Analysis

Bayer Sees 'Light At The End Of The Tunnel' In Roundup Suits

By Chris Villani

After more than a decade and tens of thousands of cases, a recent settlement announcement and a high-stakes high court hearing may finally give the makers of the weedkiller Roundup an off-ramp in seemingly never-ending litigation.

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Black To Be Deposed In Suit Alleging BofA Enabled Epstein

By Pete Brush

U.S. District Judge Jed S. Rakoff said Wednesday that billionaire Leon Black must sit for questioning from both Bank of America and a plaintiff who says the bank facilitated Jeffrey Epstein's sex crimes, but put off the deposition for 10 days.

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Meta, Google Rest In Bellwether Social Media Harm Trial

By Craig Clough

Meta Platforms and Google rested their defense Wednesday in a landmark California bellwether trial accusing their social media platforms of harming children, with the cases-in-chief ending in a somewhat anticlimactic manner as jurors were shown videotaped depositions after weeks of dramatic live testimony and attorney theatrics.

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Grammarly Hit With Class Action Over 'Expert Review' AI Tool

By Dorothy Atkins

An investigative journalist hit Grammarly's owner with a proposed class action in New York federal court Wednesday, alleging its AI-powered "Expert Review" writing tool misappropriates the names, likenesses and identities of well-known writers and public figures and "involuntarily conscripted" them into serving as Grammarly's unpaid experts.

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Apple Affiliate Can't Unravel Classes After Wage Verdict

By Benjamin Morse

An Apple-affiliated repair company cannot undo five classes in a wage and hour suit that snagged a nearly $840,000 win for employees, a North Carolina federal judge ruled Wednesday, rejecting arguments that a recent Fourth Circuit ruling undermined the court's earlier decision.

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3M Dodges Workers' Suit Over Retirement Fund Roster

By Patrick Hoff

3M escaped a proposed class action claiming it failed to remove underperforming investment options from its $12 billion employee retirement plans, with a Minnesota federal judge saying workers needed to do more to show that better-performing funds were comparable.

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Sales Agents Showed Insurance Co. Willfully Flouted FLSA

By Irene Spezzamonte

Sales agents supported their claims that an insurance marketing and sales organization willfully violated the Fair Labor Standards Act, a New Jersey federal judge ruled, applying a longer statute of limitations to the workers' claims for unpaid wages.

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Hard Rock, Other Casinos Kept Illegal Tip Pools, Dealers Say

By Gina Kim

Bally's, Hard Rock, Borgata and Tropicana were hit with proposed class and collective actions Tuesday in New Jersey federal court by dealers who alleged the Atlantic City-based casinos paid less than minimum wage to tipped employees and illegally required them to pool tips, in violation of federal and state wage laws. 

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Tether, Bitfinex Appeal Class Cert. In Bitcoin Rigging Suit

By Katryna Perera

Digital asset companies Tether and Bitfinex have petitioned the Second Circuit to review a New York federal judge's recent decision granting class certification to two classes of investors in a suit accusing the companies of rigging the cryptocurrency market and costing investors hundreds of billions of dollars.

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Investor Says JPMorgan Enabled $328M Crypto Scam

By Carolina Bolado

A proposed class suit filed Tuesday in California federal court accuses JPMorgan Chase Bank NA of enabling a $328 million cryptocurrency scam at Florida-based Goliath Ventures Inc.

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GreenSky, Ex-Workers Settle Wage Claims Amid Arbitration

By Chart Riggall

GreenSky LLC told a Georgia federal court Wednesday it's reached a settlement in a wage suit from former customer service employees a month after the fintech company won a bid to force the suit into arbitration.

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Anadarko Investors Get Class Cert. In Suit Over Oilfield Project

By Jared Foretek

A Texas federal judge certified a class of potentially thousands of Anadarko Petroleum Corp. investors who claim the company misled them for years about the viability of the Shenandoah oil field in the Gulf of Mexico before abandoning the project in 2017 and sending the company's stock falling.

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Theory Nixed But Not Claims Against Triumph In Pork Case

By Bryan Koenig

A Minnesota federal judge refused to rethink forcing Triumph Foods to face trial alongside other pork producers accused of price-fixing, concluding that even though one key theory was "inadequately pled," there remains enough of a dispute on another theory to go to a jury.  

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Insulin Makers Ask Justices To Review Collusion Case

By Matthew Perlman

Sanofi-Aventis US, Eli Lilly & Co., Novo Nordisk Inc. and AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals LP have told the U.S. Supreme Court that a ruling reviving a case over insulin drug costs undermines key rules meant to weed out improper antitrust claims.

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Pa. Justices Doubtful Law Unclear In AG-DA Opioid Deal Row

By Matthew Santoni

Multiple Pennsylvania Supreme Court justices on Wednesday doubted a state law was ambiguous about whether the attorney general could step in and settle claims brought by county-level district attorneys, as he had in a multistate settlement with opioid companies.

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Huffy Moves To End Action Over Recalled Tonka Trucks

By Jonathan Capriel

Two consumers who filed a proposed class action over recalled Ride-On Tonka Dump Trucks have failed to state valid legal claims, said a motion filed Monday by Huffy Corp., which additionally argued that a 50-state class would be unmanageable.

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Photobucket Can't Escape AI Training Suit

By Rachel Konieczny

A proposed class action alleging image hosting website Photobucket used billions of photographs uploaded by users for biometric data and training image generators can largely move forward, but one named plaintiff must arbitrate her claims, a Colorado federal judge ruled.

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Students Certified As Class In Conn. Intimate Photos Breach

By Brian Steele

A Connecticut state judge has certified an issue class of prep school students who allege that a former IT employee snooped through their electronic devices and accessed their "intimate" photos and videos, also appointing Faxon Law Group LLC and Silver Golub & Teitell LLP as co-lead class counsel.

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La. Personal Injury Firm Faces Class Action Over Data Breach

By Matt Perez

Blake Jones Law Firm LLC, a personal injury firm operating out of New Orleans, has been hit by a proposed class action lawsuit in Kentucky federal court over its response to a data breach last year.

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Fintech Lender Hit With 2nd Suit Over Cyberattack

By Isaac Monterose

A proposed class has accused a blockchain-based lender in North Carolina federal court of failing to protect their personally identifiable information from hackers, the second such lawsuit the company is facing over a recent data breach.

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Fidelity Gets Initial OK On $2.5 Million Data Breach Deal

By Bonnie Eslinger

A Massachusetts federal judge on Wednesday granted preliminary approval to Fidelity Investments' $2.5 million deal to end a putative class action claiming the financial services giant didn't protect the personal information of more than 155,000 account holders during a "preventable" 2024 data breach.

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DNA Testing Co. Can't Shake Suit Over Genetic Data Sharing

By Allison Grande

A Massachusetts federal judge refused to release Nebula Genomics Inc. from a proposed class action accusing it of illegally sharing its customers' genetic information with Meta and other third parties through online tracking tools, finding that the parties' choice-of-law agreement didn't extend to the plaintiff's genetic privacy allegation. 

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Publix Beats Pricing Suit After Shopper Didn't Seek Refunds

By David Minsky

A Florida federal judge tossed a proposed class action alleging Publix Supermarkets Inc. deceptively overcharged customers, saying the shopper who brought the lawsuit lacked standing to sue because she failed to pursue refunds for all the purchased items. 

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Plaintiffs Seek Final OK Of $425M Capital One Rate Deal

By Sydney Price

Consumers claiming Capital One deceptively advertised its 360 Savings accounts have asked a Virginia federal judge to grant final approval to their settlement with the bank, a revised version of a previous deal that was rejected last year and expected to provide over $1 billion in benefits to the class.

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Fanatics Seeks Sanctions Over 'False' Trading Card Claims

By Elaine Briseño

Fanatics asked a New York federal court to sanction the plaintiffs suing the platform over allegedly inflating trading card prices, arguing the consumers knowingly misstated the types of products the company was selling when they made their purchases.

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Costco Owes Shoppers Refunds For Voided Tariffs, Suit Says

By Ben Adlin

Costco shoppers are owed back the higher costs they paid as a result of President Donald Trump's global tariffs that the nation's highest court has since declared unlawful, according to a putative consumer class action filed Wednesday in Illinois federal court.

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Uber Argues It Doesn't Have Same Duty To Safety As Taxi Cos.

By Jonathan Capriel

Uber can't be held liable for the alleged sexual assault of a passenger by a North Carolina driver, the company told the California federal court overseeing multidistrict litigation over similar claims, arguing that it is a technology company and therefore doesn't have the same duty to ensure passenger safety as a taxi company.

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Neighbors Sue Tenn. Paper Mill Over Rotten-Egg Smell

By Emily Field

A Tennessee paper packaging mill was hit with a proposed class action Tuesday by neighbors who claim that a rotten-egg odor from its wastewater treatment is so pervasive and foul that they are stuck inside their homes, a day after a similar suit by the same attorneys against a landfill.

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Mitsubishi Calls Engine Emissions Class Action A Nonstarter

By Ben Adlin

Mitsubishi wants to flush a Washington resident's putative class action accusing the business of dodging federal emissions regulations for marine engines, telling a Seattle federal judge Tuesday the suit is founded on federal Clean Air Act claims that only the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency can enforce.

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PacifiCorp Owes More Than $53M In Latest Wildfire Verdict

By Cara Salvatore

An Oregon state jury has awarded $53.4 million in noneconomic damages in the latest trial over wildfires PacifiCorp was found liable for starting around the state on Labor Day 2020, including awards to a couple who owned an excavation company.

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More Info Sought On ICE Adherence To DC Arrest Order

By Jared Foretek

A D.C. federal judge said she'd need more briefing before deciding whether to grant a motion to enforce her injunction limiting the circumstances in which U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement can make warrantless immigration arrests within the nation's capital.

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Judge Won't Lift Sanctions For 'Abhorrent' Student Removals

By Britain Eakin

A Massachusetts federal judge on Wednesday denied the Trump administration's bid to stay an order imposing sanctions on the government for targeting pro-Palestinian protesters for removal over their speech while it appeals, saying the government's unconstitutional conduct must be stopped.

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Del. Coinbase Outcome May Have Been Different In Texas

The Delaware Court of Chancery's recent decision in Grabski v. Andreessen, finding that a member of the Coinbase special litigation committee was not independent, provides guidance for Delaware boards regarding the formation, composition and operation of SLCs, while offering a counterpoint to the procedures available to Texas-incorporated companies, says John Lawrence at Baker Botts.

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Justices' GEO Ruling Sets Gov't Contractor Immunity Limits

The U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision in GEO Group v. Menocal will affect virtually every case in which a government contractor faces liability because they can no longer routinely assert their immunity under the government contract and must instead make a showing on the merits, says Terry Collingsworth at International Rights Advocates.

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AG Watch: Ohio Targets DEI Policies

As Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost seeks to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion programs in both public education institutions and private companies, Ohio entities must carefully navigate this constantly evolving, highly contentious topic to avoid litigation while also not forfeiting their core principles, say attorneys at BakerHostetler.

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Ex-DOJ Atty Who Said 'This Job Sucks' Running For Congress

By Courtney Bublé

The former federal government lawyer detailed to Minnesota to help with immigration cases who last month told a federal judge "this job sucks" says she is running for Congress in the state.

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$600M IP Award, Quinn Emanuel Contempt Faulted On Appeal

By Ryan Davis

The Federal Circuit on Wednesday vacated a verdict against the maker of Norton antivirus software for infringing Columbia University patents and reversed a contempt ruling against Norton's former law firm Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP that had caused the judgment to grow to just over $600 million.

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Feature

Exxon Cements Texas As Delaware's Emerging Rival

By Spencer Brewer

Last year, Vinson & Elkins partner Katherine Frank fielded about one call a week from companies thinking about redomiciling in Texas. Speaking to Law360 the day after ExxonMobil announced its plan to reincorporate in the Lone Star State due to its business-forward courts and policies, Frank said the callers fell into three categories.

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Firm Probed In $4B LA Sex Abuse Deal Hit With UPL Charges

By Rachel Rippetoe

A co-founder of the Los Angeles personal injury firm facing investigation for its involvement in a record $4 billion sex abuse settlement against Los Angeles County was hit with disciplinary charges by the California State Bar, alleging the firm illegally practiced law outside the state.

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Analysis

Trump Cybercrime Order Creates New Compliance To-Do List

By Phillip Bantz

President Donald Trump's recent executive order calling for a coalition of government agencies to combat cybercrime is far more forceful than efforts under prior administrations, according to white collar lawyers, who tentatively applaud the proposal while warning it could raise new compliance risks.

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3 Attys Escape Ford's 'Retaliatory' Lemon Law RICO Suit

By Linda Chiem

A California federal judge has shut down Ford Motor Co.'s revised racketeering lawsuit accusing three attorneys affiliated with Knight Law Group LLP of orchestrating a massive fraudulent legal billing scheme, saying the attorneys' underlying conduct in pursuing lemon law litigation is shielded by First Amendment protections.

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Judges, Lawmakers Urge 4th Circ. To Affirm Halligan Ruling

By Ryan Boysen

Members of Congress and former federal judges have urged the Fourth Circuit to affirm that Lindsey Halligan was not properly appointed as the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, saying the episode exemplifies why there are guardrails against installing political loyalists as federal prosecutors.

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VA, DOJ Cut Deal To Make Attys Mental Health Guardians

By Mark Payne

Under a new initiative, attorneys at the U.S. Department of Justice will serve as legal guardians for some homeless veterans, the Trump administration announced on Wednesday, though some veterans advocates expressed concern that the new program could involuntarily coerce veterans experiencing mental health issues into institutional care.

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