Analysis

Hagens Berman's Novel DOJ Referral May Have Chilling Effect

By Emma Cueto

A Pennsylvania federal judge's unusual decision to refer prominent plaintiffs firm Hagens Berman LLP to the U.S. Department of Justice for possible criminal investigation over its pursuit of claims related to morning sickness drug thalidomide could have a chilling effect on lawyers' advocacy, law professors and attorneys said.

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Expert Invoices Discoverable In J&J Talc MDL, Judge Says

By George Woolston

A New Jersey federal judge said Monday that the plaintiffs steering committee can receive invoices for Johnson & Johnson's experts' work relating to multidistrict litigation alleging the use of talcum powder caused ovarian cancer and mesothelioma, but only after it produces its own expert invoices.

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Uber May Win Sanctions On Atty Who Disclosed MDL Docs

By Bonnie Eslinger and Mike Curley

A California federal judge said Tuesday it appeared an attorney for plaintiffs claiming Uber failed to protect passengers from sexual assault "acted in a cavalier manner" with a protective order in the multidistrict litigation, but didn't rule on Uber's requests for monetary sanctions nor its bid to kick the attorney off the plaintiff steering committee.

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Amazon Still Can't Claw Back FTC Probe Documents

By Bryan Koenig

A Washington federal judge refused Monday to reconsider his order allowing the Federal Trade Commission to hold on to documents produced in the investigation preceding its antitrust lawsuit accusing Amazon of creating an artificial pricing floor, concluding the online retail giant never clearly argued any material was produced "inadvertently."

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Smucker Pet Food Buyers Near Cert. In PFAS Disclosure Fight

By Dorothy Atkins

A California federal judge said Tuesday he's inclined to certify a class of consumers who allege The J.M. Smucker Co. failed to disclose risks of so-called PFAS forever chemicals in pet-food packaging contaminating kibble, telling counsel during a hearing that many issues Smucker raises "are better addressed on the merits."

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Judge Questions DraftKings Evidence Of 'Bonus' Fine Print

By Julie Manganis

A Massachusetts state judge on Tuesday said she had "a lot of questions" about the admissibility of a re-created screen image DraftKings wants to rely on to demonstrate that the lead plaintiff in a proposed class action was shown the terms of an allegedly deceptive bonus offer.

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Brief

Wells Fargo $84M ERISA Stock Option Suit Deal Initially OK'd

By Kellie Mejdrich

A Minnesota federal court gave its initial sign-off to an $84 million settlement that Wells Fargo & Co. agreed to pay to end a class action alleging that the bank ran afoul of federal benefits law when it used dividends earned by its employee stock ownership plan to meet its 401(k) matching obligations.

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Brief

CORRECTED: Duane Reade, NYC To Pay $7.2M To NYPD Cops In Wage Suit

By Irene Spezzamonte

Duane Reade and New York City will pay $7.2 million to more than 2,000 New York Police Department officers who claimed in New York federal court that the drug store chain didn't properly compensate them for work performed during off-duty hours. 

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3rd Circ. Won't Let Post-Gazette Duck Benefits Injunction

By Emily Brill

A Third Circuit panel is standing by its decision to let an injunction against the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette remain active while the newspaper appeals, saying it won't reconsider its Nov. 24 refusal to stay an injunction requiring the paper to restore its workers' pre-2020 benefits.

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United Says Labor Contract Pushes Wage Row To Arbitration

By Benjamin Morse

Federal labor law requires United Airlines Inc. flight attendants to arbitrate their proposed wage class action, the airline told a New Jersey federal court, saying resolution of the claims hinges on the parties' collective bargaining agreement.

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McDonald's Narrows Fired Worker's Sex Harassment Suit

By Grace Elletson

An ex-McDonald's worker failed to show she was fired for complaining that a co-worker sexually harassed her, an Illinois federal judge ruled, cutting claims from a proposed class action that the fast food giant often retaliated against workers who reported on-the-job sexual harassment.

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Philly Cops Say OT Suit Should Go To Trial

By Irene Spezzamonte

An overtime suit against the city of Philadelphia, its police department and some of the department's leaders should continue on to trial because qualified immunity doesn't apply and many questions remain unanswered, two ranking officers told a federal court.

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Mobile Game Maker, Investors Get Final OK For $6.5M Deal

By Emilie Ruscoe

Mobile game developer Playstudios Inc. and its investors have gotten a final nod for their $6.5 million settlement of claims the company failed to disclose issues with a game it projected would be lucrative as it prepared to go public via merger with a special purpose acquisition company.

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Starbucks Loses Bid For Second Look At 'Triple Shot' Ruling

By Emilie Ruscoe

Starbucks can't get a Seattle federal judge to revise his order allowing a proposed investor class action over its "Triple Shot" reinvention plan to proceed, with the judge saying a recent Ninth Circuit decision on an investor suit over an ad slogan does not change his position.

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Ad Analytics Co.'s Brass Face Investor Suit Over Bot Traffic

By Emilie Ruscoe

Current and former officers and directors of digital advertisement measurement services DoubleVerify Holdings Inc. kept the company from disclosing artificial intelligence-driven industry shifts that hurt its bottom line, including the company's own failures to detect increasingly sophisticated bot traffic, a shareholder derivative action alleges.

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J&J Expert Tells Jury Women's Cancer Can't Be Traced To Talc

By Craig Clough

A University of San Diego gynecologic oncologist told a California jury Tuesday in a bellwether trial over claims that Johnson & Johnson's talc products caused two women's ovarian cancer that it is "impossible" to conclude why any particular person contracts the deadly disease. 

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GM Says Air Condition Claims Too Individual For Class Cert.

By Emily Field

General Motors LLC on Monday urged a Michigan federal judge to reject a new request to certify a proposed class of consumers who allege the automaker sold vehicles with air conditioning defects, pointing to recent Sixth Circuit rulings to argue that the claims are too individual to be grouped in a class.

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Fertility Clinic Can't Nix Claims It Gave Data To Google, Meta

By Gina Kim

An Illinois fertility clinic must face a proposed class action alleging it invades patient privacy by sharing their personal information and website activities with Google and Meta without consent, after a federal judge has said the plaintiff has standing since the exposure of her private information is a concrete, particularized injury. 

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Amex Inks Deal After $12M Antisteering Rule Verdict In NY

By Katryna Perera

American Express Co. has reached a settlement with consumers who claim the credit card company's so-called antisteering rules cause non-Amex cardholders to pay higher charges, signaling a potential end to a class action suit after a New York federal jury ordered Amex to pay $12 million to one class of consumers.

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Minor Consented To Arbitration In Illegal Gambling Suit: Judge

By Caroline Simson

A California federal judge on Tuesday sent a proposed illegal gambling class action against the Israeli owner of popular mobile game Coin Master to arbitration, ruling that the minor plaintiff had sufficient notice of the arbitration provision when she registered to play.

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FTX Customers Seek Final OK For $10M Deal With Silvergate

By Sydney Price

Customers of failed crypto exchange FTX asked a California federal judge to give final approval to a $10 million settlement resolving claims that Silvergate Bank and its parent company enabled the multibillion-dollar FTX fraud, saying the deal represents the best, and likely only, meaningful recovery available from the now-bankrupt lender.

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Cummins Investors Ink $1.6M Deal Over Emissions Fraud Suit

By Sydney Price

Engine manufacturer Cummins Inc. and its investors asked an Indiana federal court to approve a $1.6 million deal that will end claims that the company hurt investors by hiding emissions control devices in certain engines, causing it to owe $2 billion in payments to regulators to settle Clean Air Act claims.

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USAA Says Class Action 'Impossible' In Medical Billing Suit

By Ben Adlin

Two USAA units are fighting class certification in a lawsuit accusing the insurer of underpaying auto crash-related medical bills through the use of third-party claims software, arguing the patients' healthcare claims are too dissimilar to be litigated as a group.

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AmTrust Says Insurer Must Cover Securities Suit Losses

By Hope Patti

A British insurance company wrongfully denied excess directors and officers coverage for underlying securities fraud litigation, AmTrust says in a suit filed in New York federal court Monday, saying the insurer must provide coverage since its primary policy and other excess policies have already been exhausted.

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DOJ Defends Mandatory Immigration Detention In Class Suit

By Tom Lotshaw

The Trump administration defended its decision to subject unauthorized immigrants to mandatory detention during removal proceedings, telling a Colorado federal judge a conditionally certified class of detained noncitizens challenging the policy isn't entitled to a judgment declaring it unlawful.

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REIT Wants Early Win For Its Antitrust MDL Coverage Suit

By Isaac Monterose

A multifamily real estate investment trust asked a Colorado federal court for an early win in its suit seeking insurance coverage for antitrust multidistrict litigation against the REIT, property management software company RealPage Inc. and several multifamily landlords.

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AI Evidence Rule Tweaks Encourage Judicial Guardrails

Recent additions to a committee note on proposed Rule of Evidence 707 — governing evidence generated by artificial intelligence — seek to mitigate potential dangers that may arise once machine outputs are introduced at trial, encouraging judges to perform critical gatekeeping functions, say attorneys at Lankler Siffert & Wohl.

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What US Can Learn From Brazil's Securities Arbitration Model

To allay investor concerns about its recent approval of mandatory arbitration clauses in public company registration statements, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission should look to Brazil's securities arbitration model, which shows that clear rules and strong institutions can complement the goals of securities regulation, say arbiters at the B3 Arbitration Chamber.

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Bonus Spotlight

MoFo, Kellogg Hansen Exceed Prevailing BigLaw Bonus Scale

By Anna Sanders

Morrison Foerster LLP and boutique law firm Kellogg Hansen Todd Figel & Frederick PLLC both recently unveiled above-market bonuses, according to a MoFo in-house memo and a media report. 

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Trustee Says Winston & Strawn Is Liable For $1.7B Fintech Bust

By Lynn LaRowe

The trustee of the bankrupt self-styled "anti-woke" financial technology startup GloriFi said Winston & Strawn LLP shouldn't be allowed to escape a malpractice lawsuit over the company's $1.7 billion failure, saying the firm was a knowing participant in the allegedly unlawful activities of its then-CEO.

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Consulting Co. Says Law Firms' Malpractice Cost It $10M

By Rachel Konieczny

A Colorado consulting company told a state court that an Am Law 200 firm and a now-dissolved law firm committed legal malpractice that cost the company $10 million in a lending transaction. 

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Brief

Democrats Push For $1.76B To Fix Defender Budget Shortfall

By Courtney Bublé

Almost 50 Democratic lawmakers are urging congressional appropriators to fix the long-standing budget shortfall for federal defenders in the upcoming full-year budget.

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DOJ Says It Could Indict Comey Again

By Jared Foretek

The U.S. Department of Justice on Tuesday said it may once again seek charges against ex-FBI Director James Comey, asking a D.C. federal judge to dissolve a temporary restraining order that bars prosecutors from using evidence seized from Comey's former attorney.

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Analysis

FERC's Fate Uncertain As Humphrey's Executor Teeters

By Keith Goldberg

The future of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission may hinge on whether the U.S. Supreme Court will remake its 90-year-old precedent that protects members of independent agencies from being fired at will by the president.

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Senate Confirms 3 Judges For La., Miss.

By Courtney Bublé

The U.S. Senate confirmed three judicial nominees Tuesday for federal courts in Louisiana and Mississippi.

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