A New York federal judge said Tuesday he was "doubtful" that a breach of contract lawsuit filed by the U.S. subsidiary of Venezuela's state-owned oil company can go forward, given the agreement's potential invalidation following a trial that resulted in the conviction of a former Florida congressman last month.
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WEDNESDAY, JUNE 17, 2026 Law360 iOS App Law360 Android App Follow Law360 on Facebook Follow Law360 on LinkedIn Follow Law360 on Twitter

TOP NEWS

NY Judge 'Doubtful' Of Oil Co.'s Suit Against Ex-Florida Rep.

By David Minsky

A New York federal judge said Tuesday he was "doubtful" that a breach of contract lawsuit filed by the U.S. subsidiary of Venezuela's state-owned oil company can go forward, given the agreement's potential invalidation following a trial that resulted in the conviction of a former Florida congressman last month.

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9th Circ. Rejects FCA Bid To Pause Headrest Class Trial

By Joyce Hanson

The Ninth Circuit has rejected outright Fiat Chrysler's bid to pause class action proceedings over supposedly defective Jeep and Dodge headrests during the automaker's preparation of a petition to the U.S. Supreme Court as it pushes for arbitration in the case.

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Chamberlain Hrdlicka Gets New Look At $700K Award In Texas

By Lynn LaRowe

The Texas Supreme Court has granted a request from Chamberlain Hrdlicka White Williams & Aughtry to review lower court rulings that left the firm on the hook for $700,000 in a breach of contract dispute with a cost-cutting consultant, which the firm claims should have received no more than $40,000.

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LEGAL ETHICS & MALPRACTICE

Cigna Loses Privilege Bid Due To 'Inaccurate, Redundant' Log

By Brian Steele

Cigna "improperly asserted privilege" over hundreds of documents that three laboratories sought as part of the discovery process in federal payment litigation in Connecticut, according to a special master appointed by the judge in the consolidated cases.

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POLICY & REGULATION

Montanans Say Data Center Electricity Rates Need Their Input

By Elaine Briseño

Environmental advocacy groups seek to intervene in NorthWestern Energy's application to establish new rates for future data centers, telling the Montana Public Service Commission that their input is needed to protect residential customers from unpredictably higher costs.

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REAL ESTATE & DEVELOPMENT

Mich. Township Says Man Admitted Church Wasn't His

By Susan Smiley

A west Michigan township accused of illegally demolishing a historic church is asking a federal judge not to allow a town resident to amend his complaint alleging the property belonged to him, arguing the plaintiff previously admitted that the church did not belong to him.

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CONSUMER PROTECTION

U Of Colo. Regents Sued Over End To 'Email For Life'

By Rachel Konieczny

An alumnus of the University of Colorado Boulder urged a Colorado state judge to stop the university's board of regents from cutting off graduates' access to their university email addresses, saying the planned cutoff violates a contract between the university and its alumni.

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INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

4th Circ. Turns Down Bacardi Challenge To Rum TM Renewal

By Adam Lidgett

The Fourth Circuit on Tuesday rejected Bacardi's challenge to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's renewal of a Cuban company's expired trademark registration for Havana Club rum, finding a retroactive approval to pay the registration fee to be valid.

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Ex-Wine Exec Says Privilege Covers Atty Emails With Spouse

By Aaron Keller

The former president of a company connected to the Josh Cellars wine brand says his attorney's messages to his wife are privileged because she participated in the communications as his "agent," a characterization the company appeared poised to dispute as the parties approach a $4 million trademark royalties trial.

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SPORTS & BETTING

Texas Tech QB Leaves Team Amid Betting Scandal Lawsuits

By Alex Lawson

The legal fracas over Texas Tech quarterback Brendan Sorsby, who won an injunction to play football this fall despite extensive sports gambling admissions, abruptly halted Tuesday as Sorsby left the team and declared for the NFL's supplemental draft.

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CANNABIS

Landlord Says $158K Fine Over Alleged Pot Growing Illegal

By Jonathan Capriel

The city of Fresno, California, imposed an "excessive fine" for what it claimed was marijuana cultivation and allowed the plants to be destroyed before a landlord could challenge its finding, he contended in a federal lawsuit, saying he had no idea his tenant was allegedly growing cannabis.

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EXPERT ANALYSIS

Decoding Arbitral Disputes: Curial Review Limits In Singapore

The Singapore International Commercial Court's recent decision to dismiss an application for supervisory relief from a Singapore International Arbitration Centre final costs award illustrates the limits of converting adverse financial consequences into public policy objections, even where the commercial result is severe, says Josep Galvez at 4-5 Gray's Inn.

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The Paradoxical Duty To Adopt AI When You Can't Bill For It

Both billing for hours saved using artificial intelligence and preserving billable time by not adopting AI may violate rules of professional conduct, but until bar associations' ethics rules catch up to this emerging economic dilemma, firms must decide how to adjust fee structures themselves, says Ines Lassalle at Peyrot & Associates.

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LEGAL INDUSTRY

These Firms Secured The Most Damages In The Last 3 Years

By Daniel Moritz-Rabson

Government lawyers had a strong success rate in federal courts over the last three years, but intellectual property litigation saw certain firms secure damage awards worth hundreds of millions of dollars for clients, according to Lex Machina's Law Firms Activity Report 2026 released on Tuesday.

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Ex-Girardi Atty Hid Firm's Diversion Of Funds, State Bar Says

By Bonnie Eslinger

A State Bar of California prosecutor argued Tuesday at a disciplinary trial that ex-Girardi Keese attorney Robert Finnerty hid the firm's misappropriation of millions of dollars from a family's $53 million settlement, while Finnerty's counsel countered he's being blamed for the actions of his former boss, convicted and disbarred attorney Tom Girardi.

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SCOTUSblog Founder Goldstein Denied Acquittal Or Retrial

By Alison Knezevich

A Maryland federal judge on Tuesday denied SCOTUSblog founder Tom Goldstein's bid for an acquittal or new trial, rejecting his claims that issues with jury instructions and excluded evidence warranted a do-over in his tax evasion and mortgage fraud case.

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Ex-Judge Loses Bid To Undo ICE Obstruction Conviction

By Britain Eakin

Former Wisconsin state judge Hannah Dugan has failed in her attempt to use a Fourth Circuit decision to vacate her conviction for helping a defendant in her courtroom evade immigration agents, with a federal judge ruling Tuesday the decision involves fact patterns that differ from her case.

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Senate Rejects Bid To Block Fast-Track Immigration Appeals

By Courtney Bublé

A Democratic-led Senate resolution that would have blocked a U.S. Department of Justice rule directing its Board of Immigration Appeals to quickly dismiss cases that don't raise "novel" issues failed to pass Tuesday.

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Blanche To Go Before Senate Panel July 15

By Courtney Bublé

Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche's nomination hearing is a month away, and the fate of his confirmation is likely in the hands of Sens. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., and John Cornyn, R-Texas.

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Oral Arguments In Comey, James Appeal Set For September

By Aneeta Mathur-Ashton

The Fourth Circuit has scheduled in-person oral arguments for the Trump administration's appeal of the dismissals of indictments against former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James for Sept. 15-18.

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Brazil Says Justice Is Immune From Trump Media's Suit

By Carolina Bolado

Brazil asked Monday to intervene and dismiss a suit by President Donald Trump's media company and online video-sharing platform Rumble Inc. against a Brazilian Supreme Federal Court justice's gag orders, saying the suit cannot overcome immunity under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act.

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LAW FIRMS IN TODAY'S NEWS

4 5 Gray's Inn Square

Abir Cohen

Alexander Dubose

Alston & Bird

ArentFox Schiff

Baughman Kroup

Berger Montague

Boies Schiller

Bondurant Mixson

Butler Prather

Byrd Campbell

Carmichael Ellis

Chamberlain Hrdlicka

Clement & Murphy

Cooley LLP

Covington & Burling

DLA Piper

Debevoise & Plimpton

Dow Golub

Dunnington Bartholow

Finn Dixon

Foley Hoag

Gibson Dunn

Gillam Smith

Gimbel Reilly

Girardi & Keese

Gordon Rees

Gupta Wessler

Haynes Boone

Holland & Knight

Irell & Manella

Jones Day

Kelley Drye

Kellogg Hansen

Kershaw Talley

King & Spalding

Kirkland & Ellis

Klein Thomas

Law Office of Kevin G. Little

Levine Lee

Lieff Cabraser

Lowell & Associates

M.D. Gibson & Bolen

Mandelbaum Barrett

Munger Tolles

Niemeyer Grebel

Ogletree Deakins

Page Scrantom

Peyrot & Associates

Quinn Emanuel

Reed Smith

Robinson & Cole

Rosati Schultz

Rosing Pott

Sidley Austin

Skadden Arps

Strang Bradley

Straub Seaman

Troutman

White and Williams

Wilkinson Stekloff

Willkie Farr

Winston Taylor

COMPANIES IN TODAY'S NEWS

Amazon.com Inc.

American Bar Association

American Civil Liberties Union

Apple Inc.

Bacardi Ltd.

Compass Minerals International, Inc.

Earthjustice

FCA US LLC

Ford Motor Co.

Henry Schein Inc.

Honor the Earth

Lex Machina Inc.

LexisNexis Legal & Professional

Meta Platforms Inc.

National Collegiate Athletic Association

New York State Bar Association

NorthWestern Energy Group Inc.

PG&E Corp.

RELX PLC

Sales Inc.

Singapore International Arbitration Centre

State Bar of California

The Cigna Group

The Energy Coalition

The Florida Bar

Twitter Inc.

United Nations Commission on International Trade Law

GOVERNMENT AGENCIES IN TODAY'S NEWS

Department of Cannabis Control

Federal Bureau of Investigation

Internal Revenue Service

Montana Public Service Commission

New York Attorney General's Office

New York Supreme Court, New York County

Office of Foreign Assets Control

Texas Attorney General's Office

Texas Supreme Court

U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Maryland

U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Wisconsin

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

U.S. Department of Justice

U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia

U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut

U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland

U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina

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

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 Texas

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

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

U.S. House of Representatives

U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission

U.S. Supreme Court

United States District Court for the District of Colorado

United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin