NM Offers Infernal Literature Lesson In Meta Trial Closing

By Cara Salvatore

New Mexico wrapped its data privacy trial against Meta on Wednesday by likening the social media company's alleged habitual lying about data protection to the worst of sins in Dante's "Inferno," asking the jury, "Does lying matter?"

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Motley Rice Partner Tapped For Opioid Case Co-Lead Counsel

By Emily Field

The Ohio federal judge overseeing multidistrict opioid litigation appointed on Wednesday Donald Migliori, a managing partner at Motley Rice LLC, as co-lead counsel in the wake of the death of the firm's co-founder Joe Rice, who had served in the position for the past eight years.

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Google MDL Coverage Suit Belongs In Calif., Del. Judge Rules

By Dorothy Atkins

A Delaware state judge has stayed a lawsuit by American International Group subsidiaries seeking a declaration that they're not liable for covering Google's defense costs tied to social-media addiction multidistrict litigation, finding the parties must litigate in California where Google filed its own coverage suit weeks before the insurers.

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Calif. Appeals Court Revives Antitrust Suit Against Claritev

By Rae Ann Varona

A California state appeals court held in a published opinion that health insurer reimbursements for services are prices that, if fixed or tampered with, are subject to antitrust scrutiny, reviving a lawsuit that accused MultiPlan Corp. of violating antitrust law through pricing tools used by health insurance providers.

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Microsoft Heads Face Derivative Action Over Inflection AI Deal

By Ben Adlin

Three Microsoft Corp. investors filed a shareholder derivative suit in Washington state court Monday over claims the company's leaders wrongfully approved a March 2024 licensing agreement with Inflection AI Inc. aimed at bailing out Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and entrepreneur Reid Hoffman after their investments in the startup soured.

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Healthcare Co. Trims But Can't Escape Retirement Plan Suit

By Patrick Hoff

Nonprofit healthcare system Virtua Health can't avoid a proposed class action alleging its 401(k) plan unlawfully offered a risky and underperforming investment option that provided excessive compensation to plan service providers, a New Jersey federal judge ruled.

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Delta Anti-Moonlighting Suit Sent Back To Wash. State Court

By MJ Koo

A federal judge has sent a proposed class action accusing Delta Air Lines of barring low-wage workers from holding second jobs back to Washington state court, finding the worker who brought the suit failed to show she suffered a concrete injury that gave the federal court authority to hear the case.

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Federated Hermes Can't Evade 401(k) Self-Dealing Claims

By Matthew Santoni

Investment manager Federated Hermes Inc. must face most of a proposed class action from current and former employees over its alleged use of retirement funds to prop up its own underperforming investments, a Pennsylvania federal judge ruled Wednesday.

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Exelon Investors' $40M Deal In Bribery Case Wins Final OK

By Celeste Bott

An Illinois federal judge on Tuesday granted final approval to a $40 million settlement resolving Exelon shareholders' claims against company leaders connected to the Commonwealth Edison bribery scandal, over the objections of some investors who argued that most benefits were already paid, previously implemented, or too small to justify releasing valuable claims.

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Honeywell Aerospace Hit With Suit Over $2M DOJ Settlement

By Katryna Perera

Honeywell Aerospace is facing an investor suit alleging it failed to disclose a federal investigation that led to a $2 million settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice and that a small set of suppliers had a "disproportionate impact" on the aerospace and defense company's revenue.

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Vein Tech Maker Escapes Suit Over DOJ Kickback Probe

By Katryna Perera

A New York federal judge has tossed, for now, a proposed investor class action alleging that vein disease device maker Inari Medical Inc.'s share price fell after it disclosed an investigation into its compliance with federal anti-kickback laws, finding the suit does not plausibly show Inari was paying healthcare providers unlawful kickbacks, among other things.

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DOJ Eyes Per Se Rule In Fragrance Antitrust Suit

By Craig Clough

The U.S. Department of Justice told a New Jersey federal judge Tuesday that it plans to weigh in on fragrance-makers' bid to dismiss purchasers' price-fixing claims, saying the motion raises "significant questions" about a Third Circuit antitrust ruling that the court revised after the department challenged its wording.

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Buyers Defend DRAM Price-Fixing Case Against Chipmakers

By Matthew Perlman

Buyers are defending a proposed class action in California federal court that accuses Samsung, Micron and SK Hynix of conspiring to restrict supplies of dynamic random access memory, arguing the companies increased prices by nearly 700% over three years.

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Mich. Judge Gives Cannabis Cos. Chance To Fix Complaint

By Melanie Dorsey

A Michigan federal judge has given two companies challenging the city of Menominee's marijuana licensing process a chance to amend their complaint after the city argued that a waiver signed as part of a license application bars their nine-count lawsuit.

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Judge Rejects $2.5M Fees For Opt-Out Attys In Chevy Case

By Mike Curley

A Michigan federal judge has rejected a motion from LG Chem and its affiliates for $2.5 million in fees for attorneys who had urged their clients to opt out of a $150 million settlement resolving allegations that Chevrolet Bolt batteries were defective, then to opt back in, saying the attorneys did nothing to materially improve or work toward the deal.

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Nestle Asks Justices To Review 'Sustainable' Cocoa Classes

By Lauren Berg

Nestle asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review a divided Ninth Circuit decision upholding class certification of millions of consumers who bought chocolate labeled "sustainably sourced" in a lawsuit claiming the chocolate is produced through child labor and deforestation.

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7th Circ. Skeptical Of UP's Temporal BIPA Contractor Argument

By Lauraann Wood

A Seventh Circuit panel seemed skeptical Wednesday that a government contractor exception in Illinois' biometric privacy law should be applied through a temporal test to determine whether such a contract's mere existence is enough to excuse defendants from the statute's informed consent requirements.

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BofA Customers Drop Suit Over Post-Jan. 6 Data-Sharing

By Jon Hill

A proposed class action accusing Bank of America NA of illegally sharing customer information with law enforcement after the Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol attack has quietly come to an end, according to a notice filed late Tuesday in Florida federal court.

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Roblox, Discord Seek To Compel Arbitration In Abuse MDL

By Craig Clough

Roblox and Discord urged a California federal judge Tuesday to send bellwether claims brought by children in a sexual exploitation multidistrict litigation to arbitration, arguing that a federal law protecting sexual assault plaintiffs from forced arbitration does not apply to allegations that online platforms enabled abuse by third-party users.

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Oura Rings Lack Tech To Accurately Track Sleep, Suit Says

By Gina Kim

Oura Inc. is falsely marketing its wearable Oura Rings as able to accurately track sleep stages, despite the rings only making predictions based on indirect signals that studies have found to be severely inaccurate, alleges a proposed class action filed Tuesday in California federal court.

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9th Circ. Grounds Suit Over Wash. Airport Flight Path Pollution

By Rachel Riley

A Ninth Circuit panel said Wednesday that a provision of the Clean Air Act limiting state regulation of aircraft emissions is enough to extinguish a group of Washington residents' proposed class action against Delta Air Lines, Alaska Airlines and the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport's operator over alleged flight path pollution.

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Bio-Lab Hit With Another Proposed Class Suit Over 2024 Fire

By Kelcey Caulder

Chlorine products company Bio-Lab and a private equity firm are facing another proposed class action in Atlanta federal court over injuries and property damage the suit said were caused by a September 2024 chemical explosion and fire at a Bio-Lab plant.

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Blue Shield Still Facing Therapy 'Ghost Network' Suit

By Bonnie Eslinger

A California federal judge ruled Wednesday that Blue Shield of California must face the majority of claims brought in subscribers' proposed class action alleging the insurer maintained a "ghost network" of mental-health providers that didn't exist or accept new patients, saying the suit adequately claims contract terms were not met.

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9th Circ. Says Pre-2013 Life Policies Needn't Get Lapse Forms

By Hope Patti

Life insurers are not required to send designation forms to California policyholders whose policies were issued before 2013, when a state law requiring carriers to provide applicants with a form to designate another individual to receive notice of a lapse or termination went into effect, the Ninth Circuit ruled.

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Liquor Distributor's Insurer Fights Coverage Of Worker's Suit

By Ben Adlin

Employers Mutual Casualty Co. filed suit in Washington federal court Wednesday seeking an order declaring that the insurer has no duty to defend or indemnify policyholder American Northwest Distributors Inc. against an ex-worker's proposed wage-and-hour class action.

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Colo. Judge Declines To Sanction Hospital In Gender Care Suit

By Rachel Konieczny

Children's Hospital Colorado properly complied with an injunction prohibiting it from refusing to provide medically necessary gender-affirming care to transgender youth patients, a state judge ruled, rejecting a request by a class of patients to hold the hospital in contempt.

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Organ Network Says Kidney Race Bias Claims Can't Proceed

By Rachel Riley

The United Network for Organ Sharing is seeking to exit a proposed class action claiming it prolonged wait times for Black patients seeking kidney transplants by encouraging hospitals to use a flawed race-based adjustment when measuring kidney function, saying the network's policy was "silent" as to how such scores were calculated.

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Zillow Starts Renewed Bid To Exit Home Loan Kickbacks Suit

By Isaac Monterose

Zillow Group Inc. and its subsidiaries have filed a new dismissal bid in Washington federal court against a consolidated third amended class action complaint that accuses Zillow of running an illegal kickbacks scheme that provides affiliated brokers with business leads if they push homebuyers to use the company's allegedly overpriced Zillow Home Loans program.

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Detainees Push Back On GEO's Bid To Pause Labor Suit

By MJ Koo

Detainees at a Colorado immigration detention facility have pushed back against a prison company's bid to pause their federal forced labor lawsuit before November's trial, arguing the company is treating the U.S. solicitor general's views in a related case as signaling likely Supreme Court intervention.

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Judge Orders Feds To Wait 3 Days Before ICE Transfers

By Carolyn Muyskens

A Massachusetts judge has ordered federal immigration authorities to provide three days' notice to detainees who request bond hearings before they can be moved from the First Circuit, where they have a right to a bond hearing, to another circuit where the law may be different.

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Birthright Order Could Put Class Members At Risk, Judge Told

By Elaine Briseño

Immigrant rights groups are aiming to stop the government from trying to dissolve a court order that blocked a presidential directive intended to curtail birthright citizenship, arguing the executive order would affect a certified class of children born in the U.S., despite the government's insistence it would not.

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Oakland Beats ADA Challenge To Rent Control Program

By Gina Kim

Oakland city officials beat a proposed class action alleging its rent control program discriminatorily excludes tenants with mobility disabilities since few units under the program are accessible, after a California federal judge said Wednesday there are other options that could address disparate impacts without violating the state's rent control law.

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And Now A Word From The Panel: Accessing Key MDL Data

As the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation convenes for its September hearing session, it is useful to examine the treasure trove of historical and statistical information about MDLs past and present that the panel makes available to the public on its own website, says Alan Rothman at Sidley Austin.

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Opinion

Calif. Bill Goes Too Far In Trying To Regulate Attorney AI Use

California’s first-in-the-nation act regulating how attorneys and arbitrators use generative artificial intelligence will likely soon become law, but read broadly, the provisions may dissuade lawyers from employing AI at all, thereby depriving them of key work tools, says Joshua Wurtzel at Schlam Stone.

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Tarter Krinsky Data Breach May Have Affected Health Info

By Andrea Keckley

Tarter Krinsky & Drogin LLP said in a letter this month that a data breach last year may have compromised protected health information the firm possessed due to its representation of an unnamed healthcare provider.

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'I'm Tired Of This': Judge Scolds Atty In Romantasy Suit

By Theresa Schliep

A New York federal judge has reprimanded counsel for a writer in a failed copyright infringement lawsuit over the "Crave" book series, insisting the plaintiff answer all questions in a deposition over attorney fees and writing that she was "tired of this" and "indeed being jerked around."

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Goldstein Not Leaving Prison Any Time Soon, 4th Circ. Rules

By Jeff Overley

The Fourth Circuit balked late Wednesday at freeing Tom Goldstein from prison as he fights felony convictions, and it rejected fast-track review of the renowned appellate advocate's trial, indicating he'll likely spend substantial time behind bars even if his appeal succeeds.

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Analysis

Newman's Roadblocks Guide Judicial Conduct Reform Bill

By Dani Kass

The Judicial Conduct and Disability Act has worked well in allowing the judicial branch to govern itself for nearly 50 years, but the ongoing suspension of Federal Circuit Judge Pauline Newman has exposed gaps that could be addressed with newly introduced legislation, attorneys say.

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Senate Confirms Abbott Aide To Texas Federal Bench

By Courtney Bublé

The Senate voted 50-47, along party lines, on Wednesday to confirm Angela Colmenero, deputy chief of staff to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, to serve on the Southern District of Texas.

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Fed. Panel At Standstill Over ABA Law School Accreditor Role

By Emma Cueto

A key U.S. Department of Education committee deadlocked Wednesday over whether the American Bar Association council responsible for approving law schools should continue as a federally recognized accreditor, tabling the issue until Thursday after different proposals failed to win majority support.

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