A Connecticut judge on Monday refused to allow companies behind the Josh Cellars wine brand to introduce an ex-president's alleged litigation funding deals during an upcoming trademark royalties trial, finding that the agreements aren't relevant to his $4 million contract and fiduciary duty claims against his former employers.
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TOP NEWS

Ex-Josh Cellars Prez Can Keep Litigation Funding Out Of Trial

By Hailey Konnath

A Connecticut judge on Monday refused to allow companies behind the Josh Cellars wine brand to introduce an ex-president's alleged litigation funding deals during an upcoming trademark royalties trial, finding that the agreements aren't relevant to his $4 million contract and fiduciary duty claims against his former employers.

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5th Circ. Says Texas Can Block China-Linked Energy Deal

By Mike Curley

The Fifth Circuit has affirmed an order dismissing a suit from the subsidiary of a Chinese company over the blockage of its investment into Texas energy grid assets, finding that federal regulations don't preempt a state law blocking energy investments by China and other countries.

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Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court

By Jarek Rutz

The Delaware Chancery Court last week blocked Cloudflare Inc. from completing a restructuring meant to preserve its founders' voting control, while Tower Semiconductor Ltd. accused Intel Corp. of backing out of a semiconductor manufacturing agreement and social media company Triller Group Inc. challenged its removal from Nasdaq.

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4 Justices Sit Out Appeal, Leaving Copyright Ruling Intact

By Ivan Moreno

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday left intact a far-reaching Fifth Circuit ruling holding that U.S. copyright termination can recapture foreign rights conveyed in a worldwide grant, not by denying an appeal from major music publishers, but because four justices sat out and left the court without enough members to hear the case.

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Analysis

FCRA, TCPA Drive Consumer Protection Suits To 10-Year High

By Allison Grande

Consumer protection litigation in federal courts hit a 10-year high in 2025, fueled by a rise in credit reporting and telemarketing disputes, and these gains show no signs of abating as the emergence of artificial intelligence tools sparks more grievances, according to a new report by Lex Machina.

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LEGAL ETHICS & MALPRACTICE

Insurers Want Unadmitted Report Axed From McCarter Brief

By Danielle Ferguson

A pair of insurers urged a Connecticut state judge Monday to order McCarter & English LLP to file a substituted post-trial brief in a more than $20 million malpractice case over commercial loan transactions, arguing the firm improperly quoted a report never admitted into evidence at trial this summer.

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REAL ESTATE & DEVELOPMENT

RE Firm Settles Suit Over $200M Contaminated NC Homes Buy

By Isaac Monterose

A real estate firm has settled its North Carolina federal suit alleging a multifamily property owner and its affiliates wrongfully kept $2 million in earnest money deposits even after the firm learned of contamination at a Charlotte property and scrapped a nearly $200 million purchase agreement, according to a Monday court report. 

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NJ Panel Urged To Apply Bias Law To Commercial Tenants

By George Woolston

A clothing boutique owner urged a New Jersey appellate court Monday to revive her sexual harassment claim against her landlord, arguing that the state's discrimination law applies to commercial tenancies.

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INSURANCE

Mass. Court Affirms Doctor's Partial Win Over Insurer

By Julie Manganis

A doctor whose career was cut short after losing the use of his feet is entitled to damages from Paul Revere Life Insurance Co. for breach of contract and unfair settlement practices under state law, but cannot revive other claims tossed by a judge or extend the statute of limitations, an intermediate appellate court said Monday.

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INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

Salsa Composer Says He Kept Rights To 6 Albums

By Carolina Bolado

A Venezuelan salsa composer suing his former business partner and producer for copyright infringement told jurors Monday that he never transferred ownership rights to six albums that he says have been disseminated without consent or payment.

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PRODUCT LIABILITY

Jeep Drivers Say Windshield-Maker's Glass Cracks Too Easily

By Emily Field

A windshield manufacturer was hit with a proposed class action in New Jersey federal court alleging that the windshields it supplied to FCA US for Jeep Wranglers and Gladiators crack and chip for no reason, causing a safety hazard.

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CONSUMER PROTECTION

Solar Lender Seeks Exit From Michigan AG's $81M Fraud Case

By Melanie Dorsey

A solar financing company accused of helping facilitate an $81 million scheme that allegedly left Michigan homeowners with inoperable solar systems and mounting debt has asked a federal judge to dismiss the state's claims against it, arguing that it cannot be held responsible for an independent installer's sales practices and that its lending disclosures complied with federal law.

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SECURITIES & WHITE COLLAR

BofA Sued After $1.2B Fine For AML Compliance Gaps

By Katryna Perera

After the U.S. Department of the Treasury fined it $1.2 billion for anti-money laundering and financial-crime compliance system failures, Bank of America is facing two class actions asserting similar claims, including that it failed to monitor more than $5 billion in suspicious transactions.

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Justices Asked To Resolve Nonsignatory Arbitration Split

By Caroline Simson

A trading firm is urging the U.S. Supreme Court to finally resolve whether an arbitrator or a court should decide the proper venue for a dispute involving a nonsignatory to an arbitration agreement, as it fights a Seventh Circuit opinion keeping a putative securities class action in court.

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COMPETITION

Amazon Seeks To Nix 'Project Nessie' Claims From FTC Suit

By Rachel Riley

Amazon urged a Washington federal judge Friday to pare down the Federal Trade Commission's landmark antitrust lawsuit by axing claims related to its fulfillment business and an algorithm-based pricing tool known as Project Nessie, as the FTC sought to narrow one of the e-commerce giant's defenses.  

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Canada Gov't Cuts Data Access Deal With Brokers Association

By Isaac Monterose

Canada's antitrust authority and the Quebec Professional Association of Real Estate Brokers have entered into a 10-year consent agreement that resolves the government's claims against the nonprofit, which the authority accused of wrongfully restricting its members' access to real estate data.

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DEALS LITIGATION

CoinFund, Co-Founder Clash Over $230K Equity Cashout

By Jarek Rutz

A co-founder of cryptocurrency investment firm CoinFund and his former business partners clashed in Delaware Chancery Court on Monday over whether a roughly $230,000 cashout offer for his 25% stake complied with their agreements or was part of a scheme to deprive him of a more valuable ownership interest.

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EMPLOYMENT

Amazon Noncompetes Run Afoul Of California Law, Suit Says

By Ben Adlin

Two former Amazon employees have accused the company of wrongfully forcing its California workers to sign agreements containing a noninterference provision, contending the provision amounts to a noncompetition clause that's forbidden by state law.

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PEOPLE

Paul Hastings Adds 3 Litigators In Calif. From Sheppard Mullin

By Rose Krebs

Paul Hastings LLP announced Monday that it has added three partners in California from Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP to bolster its litigation practice and capacity to handle consumer class actions and other matters.

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LEGAL INDUSTRY

DOJ Or Trump: Judge Asks Who Is Deciding Golf Course Plan

By Jared Foretek

Trump administration lawyers continued to insist at a hearing Monday there is no final plan to remake East Potomac Golf Course, and they changed their tune about whether one would require environmental review, despite new social media posts from the president announcing that work on the overhaul would begin "immediately."

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Wood Smith, Charlesbank Capital Ink Pioneering MSO Deal

By Emma Cueto

Insurance defense firm Wood Smith Henning & Berman has inked a deal to take investment from middle market investment firm Charlesbank Capital Partners via a managed services organization, according to an announcement Monday, the largest U.S. firm to announce such a move.

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Brief

Arizona Court Approves State's First Non-ABA Law School

By Emma Cueto

The Arizona Supreme Court has approved the state's first law school not accredited by the American Bar Association, citing the need to increase the number of lawyers per capita in the state and provide more affordable options for legal education.

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Court Denies Gov't Bid To DQ Susman Godfrey In ABA's Suit

By Andrea Keckley

A federal judge in Washington, D.C., has denied the U.S. Department of Justice's bid to disqualify Susman Godfrey LLP from representing the American Bar Association in its lawsuit challenging the Trump administration's executive orders against multiple major law firms. 

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Trump Taps DOJ Official, Federal Prosecutor For Judgeships

By Courtney Bublé

President Donald Trump on Monday nominated a senior U.S. Department of Justice attorney for a Nebraska federal judgeship and an assistant U.S. attorney for a seat on the Northern District of Indiana bench.

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Rogoff Tells 9th Circ. Firing Furthers 'Evil' Framers Opposed

By Ben Adlin

Roger Rogoff urged the Ninth Circuit to affirm a lower judge's order reinstating him as Seattle's top federal prosecutor, asserting in a filing Friday that he's entitled to keep the court-appointed U.S. attorney position until President Donald Trump fills the role with a Senate-confirmed nominee.

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Proskauer Says It Didn't Drop Reddit To Defend Perplexity

By Lauren Berg

Proskauer Rose LLP and Perplexity AI are urging a New York federal judge to allow the law firm to represent the artificial intelligence company in Reddit's suit over alleged data scraping, balking at the social media platform's argument that its one-time law firm can't represent its current opponent.

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What The Justices Won't Hear: A Roundup Of Cert Denials

By Taylor Bowie

The U.S. Supreme Court declined to take up cases from Google, a U.S. Navy contractor, and other appellate hopefuls on Monday, according to an order list.

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LAW FIRMS IN TODAY'S NEWS

Alexander Dubose

ArentFox Schiff

Ashurst Perkins

Avila Rodriguez

Bartlit Beck

Bayard PA

Bourhis Law Group

Clement & Murphy

Cooper & Kirk

Cooper Levenson

Covington & Burling

Finn Dixon

Forsgren Fisher

Gibson Dunn

Gordon Rees

Harris Beach Murtha

Haun Mena

Hecht Partners

Holland & Knight

Honigman LLP

Hunton Andrews

Jenner & Block

Jones Day

Kilpatrick Townsend

Kobre & Kim

Kopelowitz Ostrow

Labaton Keller

Latham & Watkins

Law Offices of Jibrael S. Hindi

Lowell & Associates

Mandelbaum Barrett

McCarter & English

McGuireWoods

McMillan LLP

Mirick O'Connell

Morgan Lewis

Morris Nichols

Munger Tolles

Nagel Rice

Orrick Herrington

Paul Hastings

Proskauer Rose

Quilling Selander

Richards Layton

Robinson & Cole

Selendy Gay

Seyfarth Shaw

Shamis & Gentile

Sheppard Mullin

Silver Golub

Squire Patton

Strauss Borrelli

Susman Godfrey

Troutman

Wiggin & Dana

Williams & Connolly

WilmerHale

Winstead PC

Wolfe Law Miami

Wollmuth Maher

Wood Smith

Young Conaway

Zuckerman Spaeder

COMPANIES IN TODAY'S NEWS

AT&T Inc.

Amazon.com Inc.

American Bar Association

American Systems

BMG Rights Management GmbH

Bank of America Corp.

Burberry Group

Cable News Network Inc.

Cemex, S.A.B. de C.V.

Change Healthcare Inc.

Charlesbank Capital Partners LLC

Cloudflare Inc.

CoinFund

Democracy Forward Foundation

Eightfold AI

Electric Reliability Council of Texas Inc.

EpicentRx Inc.

FCA US LLC

Fuyao Glass America Inc.

George Washington University

Google LLC

Honeywell International Inc.

Intel Corp.

Jenzabar Inc.

Jump Trading LLC

Lex Machina Inc.

LexisNexis Legal & Professional

McKesson Corp.

Meta Platforms Inc.

Nasdaq Inc.

Nordstrom Inc.

Orbit International Corporation

Progress Software Corp.

RELX PLC

Reddit Inc.

Sephora SA

Stanford University

TikTok Inc.

Tower Semiconductor Ltd.

Toys R Us Inc.

UCLA School of Law

University of Southern California

Unum Group

WW International Inc.

Walmart Inc.

Williams-Sonoma Inc.

GOVERNMENT AGENCIES IN TODAY'S NEWS

Arizona Supreme Court

Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

Delaware Court of Chancery

Executive Office of the President

Federal Communications Commission

Federal Trade Commission

Financial Crimes Enforcement Network

Food and Drug Administration

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

National Labor Relations Board

National Park Service

New Jersey Supreme Court

Office of Foreign Assets Control

Office of the Comptroller of the Currency

State of Michigan

Texas Attorney General's Office

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

U.S. Department of Justice

U.S. Department of the Interior

U.S. Department of the Treasury

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

U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia

U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey

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

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 Indiana

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

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

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

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

U.S. Marine Corps

U.S. Navy

U.S. Senate

U.S. Supreme Court