A California federal judge on Thursday said he'd grant preliminary approval to a $150 million deal General Motors reached with car buyers over an engine defect following a trial verdict against the auto giant that class counsel said, with prejudgment interest, would have cost the company more than $270 million.
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TOP NEWS

GM Gets Initial OK For $150M Engine Defect Post-Trial Deal

By Bonnie Eslinger

A California federal judge on Thursday said he'd grant preliminary approval to a $150 million deal General Motors reached with car buyers over an engine defect following a trial verdict against the auto giant that class counsel said, with prejudgment interest, would have cost the company more than $270 million.

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TikTok Can't Duck NY Suit Over Kids' Mental Health

By Jonathan Capriel

TikTok cannot escape claims brought by the state of New York accusing the social media platform of harming children's mental health, a state court ruled Thursday.

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$45M Settlement, $9.65M Fee OK'd In Del. Cornerstone Suit

By Jeff Montgomery

Stockholders who challenged Clayton Dubilier & Rice LLC's $5.8 billion take-private deal for Cornerstone Building Brands in 2022 secured a $45 million settlement Thursday, in a case that once saw a Delaware vice chancellor blast as "farcical" the two companies' early, alleged attempts to camouflage price negotiations to get around a standstill agreement.

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$17.5M TaskUs Investor Deal Gets Magistrate's Endorsement

By Sydney Price

A federal magistrate judge has recommended preliminary approval of a $17.5 million settlement between digital solutions providers TaskUs and its investors who claim the company made false statements about its turnover and Glassdoor ratings, saying the parties' revisions to the deal are justified.

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For-Profit School Sued Over Thompson Coburn Leak Notices

By Emily Sawicki

A for-profit college operator is facing a proposed class action in Alabama federal court, alleging it failed to properly secure its data and notify students in a timely manner that its law firm, Thompson Coburn LLP, had been hit with a cyberattack causing a data breach of sensitive records.

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Eyemart Shakes Suit Over Sharing Of Health Data With Meta

By Allison Grande

A Texas federal judge has tossed a proposed class action accusing Eyemart Express LLC of unlawfully sharing information about website visitors with Meta Platforms Inc., finding that the plaintiffs had failed to allege that any of their private health data had been sent to the social media platform. 

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IP & TECHNOLOGY

AstraZeneca Inks $51.4M Settlement In Pay-For-Delay Case

By Hailey Konnath

AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals LP and Handa Pharmaceuticals LLC have agreed to shell out a combined $51.4 million to put to rest allegations AstraZeneca paid off generic-drug makers, including Handa, to protect its brand antipsychotic drug Seroquel XR, according to a filing Thursday in Delaware federal court.

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NASCAR Wins Defamation Claims Over LGBCoin Sponsorship

By David Minsky

A Florida state court judge ruled in favor of NASCAR on defamation claims brought by the founder of the LGBCoin cryptocurrency regarding communications to journalists, saying a published statement that the meme coin was almost worthless was "undisputably true."

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BANKING

Brief

Wells Fargo Settles Suit Over Online Wire Fraud Protections

By Gina Kim

Wells Fargo has settled a proposed class action alleging it failed to properly investigate and reimburse mobile banking customers who reported scammers stole money from their accounts through fraudulent wire transfers, according to a notice filed Wednesday in California federal court. 

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SECURITIES

ZoomInfo Wants Out Of Investors' Accounting Fraud Claims

By Sydney Price

Software company ZoomInfo Technologies Inc. urged a Washington federal judge to toss a proposed investor class action accusing it of making missteps in an effort to retain new pandemic-era customers, claiming the "fraud-by-hindsight" allegations are inactionable.

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COMPETITION

Amazon Says Class Too Complex To Certify In Antitrust Suit

By Jared Foretek

Amazon has told a Washington federal judge in a newly unsealed filing that a proposed class of nearly 300 million customers would be far too unwieldy for certification and defining the market in a suit accusing the company of inflating prices of items sold on its platform.

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Brief

11th Circ. Won't Revive Antitrust Claims Against Suns Owner

By Nadia Dreid

The Eleventh Circuit isn't going to touch a lower court order that tossed an antitrust case against the owner of the NBA's Phoenix Suns and his company, United Wholesale Mortgage LLC, over an alleged boycott.

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PRODUCT LIABILITY

Deere Says No Monopoly, Seeks End Of Right-To-Repair Suit

By Mike Curley

Deere & Co. is pushing to end a suit from the Federal Trade Commission and five states alleging it violated the Sherman Act by restricting access to its repair tools and services, saying it doesn't participate in the repair market so it can't have a monopoly.

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RJ Reynolds Lied About Carbon Offset Of Vapes, Suit Says

By Mike Curley

A group of California vape users is suing R.J. Reynolds Vapor Co. and its U.S. and British affiliates in federal court, alleging that its claims that the Vuse vape is the first carbon-neutral electronic cigarette are misleading.

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Monsanto-Funded Researcher Influenced Panel, Jury Hears

By Cara Salvatore

A Missouri jury hearing the latest trial over cancer claims related to Monsanto's glyphosate pesticides heard Thursday that a Monsanto-funded researcher was able to change the course of a prestigious international panel weighing the chemical's carcinogenicity.

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IMMIGRATION

Judge Orders Immigration Parole Programs To Resume

By Madeline Lyskawa

A Massachusetts federal judge ordered the Trump administration to resume processing applications for parole and benefits filed by noncitizens already in the U.S. under certain categorical parole programs, saying it's necessary to prevent irreparable harm.

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PRIVACY

LexisNexis Unit Hit With Class Actions Over 364K Data Breach

By Craig Clough

A LexisNexis unit was hit with at least two proposed class actions Wednesday in New York and Georgia federal courts by individuals who allege that their personally identifiable information was exposed during a massive data breach and that the company waited too long to inform them of the breach. 

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EXPERT ANALYSIS

ESOP Ruling Clarifies Trustees' Role In 3rd-Party Sales

An Illinois federal court's dismissal of a class action related to an employee stock ownership plan in Rush v. GreatBanc demystifies the trustee's role in a sale transaction to a third party by providing commentary on the prudent process and considerations for trustees to weigh before approving a sale, says Katelyn Harrell at BCLP.

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What Gene Findings Mean For Asbestos Mesothelioma Claims

Recent advances in genetic research have provided substantial evidence that significant numbers of malignant mesothelioma cases may be caused by inherited mutations rather than asbestos exposure — a finding that could fundamentally change how defendants approach personal injury litigation over mesothelioma, say David Schwartz at Lumanity and Kirk Hartley at LSP Group.

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Opinion

Courts Must Revitalize Robust Claim Construction

Two Federal Circuit decisions from earlier this year illustrate the rarity of robust claim construction and the underused reverse doctrine of equivalents — a dual problem that prevents courts from clearly delineating and correctly cabining the scope of rights conferred by patent claims, say attorneys at Klarquist Sparkman.

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Series

Brazilian Jiujitsu Makes Me A Better Lawyer

Competing in Brazilian jiujitsu – often against opponents who are much larger and younger than me – has allowed me to develop a handful of useful skills that foster the resilience and adaptability necessary for a successful legal career, says Tina Dorr of Barnes & Thornburg.

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LEGAL INDUSTRY

Analysis

3 Takeaways From The Judgments On Trump's Law Firm EOs

By Aebra Coe

Three federal judges have now weighed in on President Donald Trump’s executive orders targeting law firms, with each ruling in favor of the firms and deeming the orders unconstitutional. Here are three takeaways from the combined 227 pages of those judges’ conclusions.

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DOJ Sidelines ABA From Vetting Trump's Judicial Picks

By Kevin Penton

The Justice Department plans to direct judicial nominees away from a long-standing vetting process by the American Bar Association, labeling it an "activist organization," according to a Thursday letter by Attorney General Pamela Bondi.

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Harvard Taps Paul Weiss High Court Litigator For Board

By Hailey Konnath

Kannon Shanmugam, a Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison LLP partner and veteran U.S. Supreme Court litigator, has been selected to join the Harvard Corp. governing board, according to an announcement made Thursday.

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Analysis

Tariff Rulings Undercut Trump's Trade Authority, Dealmaking

By Dylan Moroses

U.S. trading partners have inadvertently found new leverage in tariff negotiations with the Trump administration after federal courts found several of the president's duties were improperly imposed, raising larger questions about future tariff authorization in the midst of a global trade spat.

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Influencer Hits Akin With Malpractice Suit Over Boxing Deal

By Lynn LaRowe

Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP and one of its Texas-based partners allegedly failed to understand California law in handling a financial dispute between a social media influencer and the company that hired him to participate in an amateur boxing competition, according to a complaint filed Wednesday in a Lone Star State federal court.

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Fed. Circ. Revives Trump Tariffs As It Weighs Appeal

By Natalie Olivo

The Federal Circuit temporarily reinstated President Donald Trump's global tariffs Thursday, a day after the U.S. Court of International Trade held that an emergency law did not give the president "unbounded authority" to impose the measures.

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Trump Pardons Twice-Convicted Former Conn. Governor

By Brian Steele

President Donald Trump has pardoned former Connecticut Gov. John G. Rowland, a one-time chairman of the Republican Governors Association, who resigned from office in 2004 and served two stints in prison for corruption and lying to federal election officials.

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Investors Allege Manhattan Firm Aided $43M Ponzi Scheme

By Emma Cueto

A pair of investors filed suit against New York-based Moritt Hock & Hamroff LLP and two of its former attorneys on Thursday, alleging that the midsize firm and the attorneys, who have since departed for Saul Ewing LLP, lied on behalf of a client who has since been charged with running a $43 million Ponzi scheme.

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Ex-Atty's Death In Colo. Jail Sparks Suit Over Medical Neglect

By Craig Clough

The family of a disbarred attorney imprisoned for felony theft sued three members of the medical staff at the prison where he died, alleging in Colorado federal court Wednesday their neglect resulted in Steven Bachar dying from cardiac arrest after he asked for days for proper medical attention.

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Trump Names 4 Jurists, State AG Official For Fla. Judgeships

By Lynn LaRowe

President Donald Trump this week announced his nominations of four judges and a top official in the Florida Attorney General's Office to fill district judgeships in the Sunshine State's Middle and Southern Districts.

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Calif. Justices Propose Tweaking Rules For Bar Examiners

By Emily Sawicki

The California Supreme Court has proposed changes to the administration of the state's troubled bar exam, circulating a slate of amendments designed to clarify the role of the Committee of Bar Examiners, including spelling out its duty to review and approve all questions used in the exam.

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Titan Of The Plaintiffs Bar: Grant & Eisenhofer's Beth Graham

By Tracey Read

Elizabeth "Beth" Graham, a San Francisco-based principal at Grant & Eisenhofer PA and a member of its executive committee, played a key part in negotiating a $600 million settlement in April 2024 for plaintiffs in litigation arising from the 2023 Norfolk Southern train derailment, earning her a spot among Law360's 2025 Titans of the Plaintiffs Bar.

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LAW FIRMS IN TODAY'S NEWS

A&O Shearman

AG Law

Akin Gump

Andrus Anderson

Arnold & Itkin

Arnold & Porter

Barnes & Thornburg

Beasley Allen

Berger Montague

Blank Rome

Bleichmar Fonti

Block & Leviton

Blood Hurst

Bryan Cave

Burg Simpson

Bush Ross

Byrnes Keller

Cadwalader Wickersham

Clark Hill

Connolly Gallagher

Cooch & Taylor

Dapeer Law

Davis Malm & D’Agostine

Davis Wright Tremaine

DiCello Levitt

Don Bivens PLLC

Faruqi & Faruqi

Freedman Normand

Galen & Davis

Garwin Gerstein

Grant & Eisenhofer

Hagens Berman

Heim Payne

Henderson Franklin

Hiraldo PA

Hodgson Russ

Holland & Knight

Holland Holland Edwards

Husch Blackwell

Jenner & Block

Jones Day

Kehoe Law Firm

Keller Postman

Kirkland & Ellis

Klarquist Sparkman

Kline & Specter

Kopelowitz Ostrow

L'Abbate Balkan

Labaton Keller

Latham & Watkins

Levi & Korsinsky

Lieff Cabraser

McCarter & English

McGuireWoods

Milbank LLP

Milberg Coleman

Morgan Lewis

Moritt Hock

Motley Rice

NastLaw

O'Melveny & Myers

Odom & Des Roches

Orrick Herrington

Paul Weiss

Perkins Coie

Pittman Dutton

Polsinelli PC

Proskauer Rose

Quarles & Brady

Quinn Emanuel

Richards Layton

Roberts Law Firm US

Ross Aronstam

Saul Ewing

Schneider Wallace Cottrell Konecky LLP

Schubert Jonckheer

Seila Law

Sidley Austin

Simmons Hanly

Simon Paschal

Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP

Skadden Arps

Smith Segura Raphael & Leger

Snell & Wilmer

Strauss Borrelli

Susman Godfrey

Thompson Coburn

Trammell PC

Ward & Hagen

Williams & Connolly

Willkie Farr

WilmerHale

COMPANIES IN TODAY'S NEWS

ABB Asea Brown Boveri Ltd.

Aisin Seiki Co.

Amalgamated Sugar Co. LLC

Amazon.com Inc.

American Association for Justice

American Bar Association

American Civil Liberties Union

AstraZeneca PLC

AutoZone Inc.

Bayer AG

Centerview Partners Holdings LP

Citigroup Inc.

Clayton Dubilier & Rice LLC

Colgate-Palmolive Co.

Cornell University

Cornerstone Building Brands

Deere & Co.

DuPont de Nemours Inc.

Education Corporation of America

FaZe Clan Inc.

Fairway Independent Mortgage Corp.

First Liberty Institute

Genuine Parts Co.

Gilead Sciences Inc.

Glassdoor LLC

GreatBanc Trust Co.

Human Rights First

KPMG International

Kubota Corporation

LaSalle Bank

Learning Resources Inc.

LexisNexis Legal & Professional

LexisNexis Risk Solutions Inc.

Meta Platforms Inc.

Monsanto Co.

NASCAR Digital Media LLC

Norfolk Southern Corp.

Par Pharmaceutical Cos. Inc.

Phoenix Suns

Ply Gem Holdings Inc.

RELX PLC

Rocket Mortgage LLC

SRI International Inc.

Southeastern University

Steuben Foods Inc.

TaskUs Inc.

The Goldman Sachs Group Inc.

The Linde Group

The Sherwin-Williams Co.

TikTok Inc.

United Wholesale Mortgage LLC

Valero Energy Corp.

Walmart Inc.

Wells Fargo & Co.

YouTube Inc.

ZoomInfo Technologies Inc.

GOVERNMENT AGENCIES IN TODAY'S NEWS

California Supreme Court

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

Delaware Court of Chancery

Executive Office of the President

Federal Bureau of Investigation

Federal Election Commission

Federal Trade Commission

Florida Attorney General's Office

Illinois Attorney General's Office

Minnesota Attorney General's Office

New York Attorney General's Office

New York Supreme Court, New York County

Ohio Attorney General's Office

South Florida Water Management District

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit

U.S. Customs and Border Protection

U.S. Department of Homeland Security

U.S. Department of Justice

U.S. Department of Labor

U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia

U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware

U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts

U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia

U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas

U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California

U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York

U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington

U.S. House of Representatives

U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission

U.S. Senate

U.S. Supreme Court

United States District Court for the District of Colorado

United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama

Wisconsin Department of Justice

World Health Organization