Were Musk's Tweets 'Deliberate' Or 'Stupid'? Jury To Decide

By Bonnie Eslinger

Elon Musk made "deliberate and carefully devised" statements to drive down Twitter's stock price after offering $44 billion for the company, Twitter investors' counsel told a California federal jury during closing arguments Tuesday, while Musk's lawyer insisted that there's no evidence of securities fraud and that it's not a crime to "tweet stupid things."

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Instagram Layers Backups To Catch Bad Content, Jury Told

By Cara Salvatore

Instagram's algorithm data head told a New Mexico jury Tuesday that Meta layers processes to ward against harmful content, so if a violating post is missed and starts going viral, it can be caught by a backstop.

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Apple Can't Shake Most PFAS Claims In Smartwatch Suit

By Mike Curley

A California federal judge won't let Apple Inc. escape a proposed class action alleging that the wristbands of its Apple Watch products contain dangerous forever chemicals, saying the complaint is sufficient to allege that the company knew of the risks but didn't warn consumers.

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Boeing's Appeal Bid Grounded In Bias Suit Over Bonuses

By Benjamin Morse

Boeing cannot immediately appeal to the Ninth Circuit a decision sending to state court a proposed class action accusing the aerospace company of denying a $12,000 bonus to workers on extended leave, a Washington federal judge ruled.

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2nd Circ. Kills Contempt Order In Starbucks False Ad Suit

By Andrea Keckley

A New York federal judge overstepped in holding an attorney in contempt for filing what the lower court deemed a "meritless" false advertising lawsuit over the amount of potassium in a Starbucks coffee flavor, the Second Circuit ruled Tuesday.

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Skechers Controllers Accused Of Unfair $9.4B 3G Buyout

By Jarek Rutz

A Detroit pension fund is challenging the $9.4 billion take-private sale of Skechers U.S.A. Inc. to 3G Capital in Delaware Chancery Court, alleging the footwear company's controlling stockholders engineered an unfair deal that favored themselves at the expense of minority investors.

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Tyson Must Face Bulk Of Meat Plant Worker's Wage Suit

By Benjamin Morse

Tyson Foods Inc. must face most of a proposed class action accusing it of wage and hour violations at a Washington processing plant, after a federal judge on Tuesday found a worker plausibly alleged that meal break interruptions and automatic deductions resulted in unpaid wages.

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4th Circ. Seems Leery Of Plant Closure Suit Against PE Firm

By Kellie Mejdrich

The Fourth Circuit was skeptical Tuesday of ex-workers' bid to revive a proposed class action accusing a private equity firm of violating federal laws when it abruptly shut down a manufacturing plant, hinting that dropping the firm from a prior suit over the closure may preclude their case.

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Bimbo Bakeries Can't Steer Driver Suit To Arbitration

By Carolyn Muyskens

A Massachusetts federal magistrate judge won't ship to arbitration a pair of New England drivers' claims that Bimbo Bakeries USA misclassifies them as independent contractors, finding that the drivers are covered by an exception to the federal arbitration statute.

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Duke Beats 401(k) Suit Over Use Of Forfeited Funds

By Grace Elletson

A North Carolina federal judge tossed a worker's suit claiming Duke University illegally used forfeited cash in its retirement plan to pay for future contributions rather than plan fees, finding the university's actions were allowed under the plan's terms.

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Nuclear Power Cos. Seek To Duck Wage-Fixing Class Action

By Benjamin Morse

Nuclear energy producers including Constellation Energy, DTE Energy, Duke Energy and NextEra Energy have urged the Maryland federal court to toss a proposed class action alleging they conspired to fix wages in a scheme that workers say spanned "100% of the nuclear power generation labor market."

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Swift Says Its Truckers Are Exempt From Washington OT Law

By Ben Adlin

Trucking firm Swift Transportation urged a Washington federal court to reject a drivers' class action accusing the company of shorting them on overtime pay, arguing that drivers are exempt from Washington state's overtime laws and don't qualify for pay while off duty or in a truck's sleeper berth.

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Inspector Nabs Collective Cert. In Engineering Co. OT Spat

By Irene Spezzamonte

An environmental inspector supported his claims that an engineering company and two related entities similarly paid day-rate workers without compensating them for their overtime, a Pennsylvania federal judge said, conditionally certifying a collective.

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Ex-Database Administrator Settles OT Claim

By Irene Spezzamonte

A former database administrator who accused Express Scripts and two other companies of misclassifying him as an independent contractor reached a $30,000 deal with the entities to settle his federal law claim, the parties told a New York federal court.

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Grocery Chain Faces Investor Suit Over Shuttered Stores

By Katryna Perera

Investors of Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. filed suit against the discount supermarket company in California federal court, alleging the company and its executives failed to disclose that its rapid financial growth was caused by expanding too quickly, which came to light earlier this year when it announced that 36 of its stores would close, sending its share price lower.

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Gartner Investor Says Co. Made Misleading Growth Claims

By Sydney Price

Insights company Gartner Inc. was hit with a proposed class action on Tuesday accusing it of failing to disclose that tariff headwinds and other macroeconomic factors would prevent it from growing its contract value.

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Apple Seeks Sanctions For 'Unrelenting' Antitrust Depo Efforts

By Dorothy Atkins

Apple urged a California federal judge to sanction iPhone users' counsel over their allegedly "unrelenting and increasingly egregious" subpoena efforts in antitrust litigation accusing Google of suppressing rival search engines with anticompetitive deals, arguing the consumers are fishing for evidence to try to improperly reinstate Apple as a defendant.

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Fragrance Co. Inks $11M Icebreaker Deal In Price-Fixing Case

By Lauren Berg

A group of consumers asked a New Jersey federal judge Monday to preliminarily sign off on an $11 million class settlement with International Flavors and Fragrances Inc., which the consumers called an "icebreaker" deal cut in sprawling price-fixing antitrust litigation against four major fragrance ingredient makers.

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Consumers Say Water Heater Valves Leak, Damage Homes

By Emily Field

Water heater manufacturer A.O. Smith Corp. on Monday was hit with a proposed class action in Wisconsin federal court alleging that its home water heaters have defective plastic valves that can suddenly leak and flood basements, ruin floors, and cause expensive repairs.

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Verizon Can't Ditch Core Claims In Business Data Breach Suit

By Allison Grande

Verizon must continue to face the bulk of a proposed class action over alleged "email bomb attacks" targeting its business customers, after a New York federal judge found that the nonprofit pressing the suit had established a concrete injury stemming from the data breach and had adequately asserted a trio of negligence, contract and California consumer protection law claims.

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JCPenney AI Tool Faces Ill. Privacy Lawsuit Over Facial Data

By Joyce Hanson

Retail brand JCPenney uses an artificial intelligence skin-care analysis tool for website visitors without ever telling them that the technology scanning their faces to provide personalized cosmetics advice illegally captures and stores their biometric information, according to a new lawsuit in Illinois state court.

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Fla. Judge Orders Consumers To Arbitrate Binance Claims

By Carolina Bolado

A Florida federal judge sent two proposed class suits against Binance to arbitration Monday after finding that the arbitration provision of Binance's terms of use applied to the investors' claims that the exchange laundered stolen cryptocurrency.

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Zoox Stockholders Push For Amazon Ex-Exec's Texts, Emails

By Jarek Rutz

A pair of Zoox Inc. stockholders have asked the Delaware Chancery Court to force Amazon.com Inc. to provide additional documents in litigation challenging its $1.3 billion acquisition of the self-driving vehicle startup, arguing that a former Amazon executive's communications could shed light on particulars of the allegedly conflict-tainted deal.

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Google Wants Cutoff Date For Ad Tech Rivals' Claims

By Bryan Koenig

Google moved to tee up a dismissal bid aimed at cutting key targeted policies from New York federal court antitrust claims from rival advertising placement technology providers, arguing that its "sophisticated" competitors cannot get around a four-year statute of limitations pegged to the U.S. Department of Justice's lawsuit.

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NeoGenomics Beats Investor Suit Over Growth Driver Claims

By Emilie Ruscoe

Cancer diagnostics company NeoGenomics Inc. no longer faces a proposed investor class action alleging it mischaracterized its growth drivers, including by failing to disclose that a rainmaking unit potentially ran afoul of anti-kickback laws, after a Manhattan federal judge held the suit failed to show the company had intentionally misled the markets. 

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Motorists Lose Bid To Challenge Chicago Skyway Toll Hikes

By Celeste Bott

An Illinois federal judge has dismissed for good a putative class action claiming the companies in charge of a major toll road leading into Chicago have increased certain tolls more than they're allowed under their lease agreement with the city, saying alternative routes exist, but the plaintiffs willingly paid the advertised rates and "got what they bargained for."

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1st Circ. Pauses 3rd-Nation Deportations Ruling During Appeal

By Britain Eakin

The First Circuit has granted the Trump administration a stay pending appeal of a Massachusetts federal court ruling that a class of noncitizens facing removal to countries to which they have no ties must receive meaningful notice and an opportunity to raise fears about being deported to those countries.

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2nd Circ. Panel Not Sold On Ivy League Players' Antitrust Suit

By Pete Brush

A Second Circuit panel seemed inclined Tuesday to uphold a Connecticut federal judge's dismissal of a challenge to the Ivy League's ban on athletic scholarships, though one judge suggested reviving the case to probe whether students properly pled antitrust injury.

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Bettor Pushes For Early Win In Fanatics Wager Limits Suit

By Melanie Dorsey

A Michigan bettor has asked a federal court to hand him a partial summary judgment win against a sportsbook owned by Fanatics Inc., claiming the platform illegally let users instantly raise their own betting limits in violation of consumer protection rules in multiple states.

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How DExit, Mandatory Arbitration Could Alter IPO Outlook

As companies continue to leave Delaware and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission begins allowing companies to implement mandatory arbitration provisions, these developments could have a major impact on the initial public offering, securities class action, and directors and officers insurance landscapes, says Walker Newell at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

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Industry Leaders Grapple With BigLaw Recruiting 'Chaos'

By Aebra Coe

Many large law firms hit elite law school campuses last September to begin recruiting first-year students for their 2027 summer associate job openings, in what panelists at a New York City Bar Association event Tuesday described as a dysfunctional system unhelpful to both law students and law firms.

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Latham Hires Desmarais IP Partner In DC

By Jack Rodgers

Latham & Wakins LLP has hired a Desmarais LLP partner in D.C., who helped represent GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals in an ongoing infringement suit against Moderna Inc., the firm announced Tuesday.

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Health Litigator Rejoins Holland & Knight From In-House Role

By Madison Arnold

A former Holland & Knight LLP attorney has returned to the firm in Jacksonville, Florida, after a 10-year stint in-house at Florida Blue, a subsidiary of GuideWell Mutual Holding Corp.

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Calif. Bills Would Reform Litigation Funding, Client Recruiting

By Emily Sawicki

Two new bills introduced to the California Assembly this week seek to impose reforms on the state's legal industry, including adding mandatory disbarment for attorneys convicted of felony "capping" — or illegally paying for client recruitment — and blocking corporate litigation funders from influencing cases.

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Brief

Prior Counsel In Settled EBay Harassment Case Eyes Payment

By Julie Manganis

An attorney who previously represented a Massachusetts couple in a harassment lawsuit against eBay and three former executives has asked a federal judge to hold off on entering a dismissal in the now-settled case until she receives assurances she will be paid.

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