FTC Claims Amazon Inflated Ad Auction Prices By 250%

By Dorothy Atkins

The Federal Trade Commission and 22 states have revealed new allegations against Amazon in their sprawling antitrust fight in Washington federal court over online search advertising auctions, including new details alleging Amazon secretly raised advertising prices by as much as 250% to increase its revenue by $87 million worldwide.

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Analysis

New Tech, Diluted Noncompetes Drive Up Trade Secret Cases

By Elliot Weld

Artificial intelligence tools are making it easier for employees to take off with valuable trade secrets when they switch employers, while noncompete agreements are becoming more difficult to enforce, a combination that is spurring an increase in trade secret cases, experts told Law360.

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9th Circ. Says Lending Co. Can't Arbitrate In Snowflake MDL

By Sydney Price

The Ninth Circuit ruled that online consumer lending platform LendingTree and an insurance comparison subsidiary cannot compel arbitration of a cybersecurity suit within multidistrict litigation over a breach of data held by cloud storage company Snowflake since the websites' design elements prevented "mutual assent" to their terms.

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WB Must Face Claims 'The Pitt' Violates 'ER' Rights Deal

By Lauren Berg

Warner Bros. Television cannot dodge a lawsuit alleging it breached a decades-old agreement with late author Michael Crichton by producing the hit medical drama "The Pitt," a California appeals court ruled, saying the suit adequately alleges the series could be considered a derivative work of the earlier hit series "ER."

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Aetna Loses Arb. Bid In Hospitals' Inpatient Pay Policy Row

By Gianna Ferrarin

Aetna Health Inc. can't force two hospital operators to arbitrate their challenge to its inpatient reimbursement policy, a Pennsylvania federal judge ruled, finding the suit seeks equitable relief and thus falls under an exemption in the insurer's arbitration agreements.

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Live Nation Cites 2nd Circ. Eyewear Ruling In Fighting Verdict

By Dorothy Atkins

Live Nation has told a New York federal judge that the Second Circuit's recent EssilorLuxottica ruling "bears on the market-definition issues" raised in Live Nation's post-trial motions challenging its antitrust trial loss, while enforcing states argued that the Ninth Circuit's recent NFL Sunday Ticket ruling reversal backs their trial win.

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Disbarred Texas Atty Gets New Shot At $3.8M Fee-Sharing Suit

By Mike Curley

A Texas appeals court on Thursday reinstated a disbarred attorney's suit alleging two law firms owe him more than $3.8 million in fees and costs, finding the trial court didn't have competent evidence that he worked on the suits only after he was disbarred.

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No Early Win For Atty In $450K Malpractice Suit

By Andrea Keckley

A Connecticut state court judge has rejected a once-prominent local attorney's dismissal bid in a lawsuit from a former client who says his failure to comply with discovery orders led to a default judgment that cost her $450,000, saying the evidence she has produced so far provides a reasonable foundation for her claims.

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5th Circ. Pushes Texas To Explain ESG Energy Boycott Law

By Spencer Brewer

A Fifth Circuit panel pushed the state of Texas to explain how a law restricting state investments with businesses that want to cut their reliance on fossil fuels passes constitutional muster, saying Thursday there "seems to be an arbitrariness" in the law.

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Toshiba, DTE Are Worlds Apart On Bond For $394M Judgment

By Melanie Dorsey

Toshiba Corp. urged a Michigan federal judge Thursday to limit its appeal bond to $37 million rather than the $549 million sought by two Michigan utilities, arguing that a state law capping appeal bonds should apply as the company challenges a $394 million judgment over a botched power plant overhaul.

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Ex-Sales Leader Violated 'Secrecy' Pact, J&J Ortho Unit Says

By George Woolston

Johnson & Johnson's orthopedic device unit DePuy Synthes alleged in New Jersey federal court that a former national sales leader's move to a rival violates several of his employment agreements, asking the court to order expedited discovery and block him from contacting any of its customers.

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Research Firm Sues To Enforce Ex-Analyst's Noncompete

By Julie Manganis

Advisory firm Forrester Research says a former principal analyst violated a decade's worth of noncompete and other provisions in employment and stock award agreements to jump to a vice president role at a direct competitor, then tried to hide his new position for months.

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Chancery Won't Allow Redo Of Fight Over Fund's $9M In Cash

By Jarek Rutz

The Delaware Chancery Court on Thursday declined to revise rulings in a yearslong dispute over a distressed credit fund's records and more than $9 million of withheld cash, disagreeing with arguments that the fund's former managers and controllers had been improperly swept into the orders.

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Colo. Judge Denies Bid To Continue Hemp Venture Trial

By Jonathan Capriel

A Colorado federal judge denied a hemp entrepreneur's request to delay a trial in his suit accusing a family farm of stealing his share of hemp harvest, worth at least $9.9 million, saying he should have attached medical records if he was going to claim his health precluded him from attending.

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Pot Grower Accused Of Retaliation, Worker Misclassification

By Jonathan Capriel

Two cannabis workers claim they were fired after repeatedly warning their employer about mold, electrical and fire hazards at a Los Angeles cultivation site, according to a lawsuit filed in a California state court.  

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6 Ways RE Projects Can Balance Campus, Commercial Needs

Recent mixed-use campus developments show that housing, research, hospitality, retail and recreation can share infrastructure and institutional identity while operating under diverse requirements, as long as the underlying agreement structures are carefully thought out and drafted, says Bob Burton at Winstead.

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Series

Open-Water Swimming Makes Me A Better Lawyer

Swimming long distances in open waters is not necessarily an escape from my intellectual property practice, but a complementary discipline that similarly rewards sustained attention, intellectual curiosity, resilience and the ability to pursue a distant objective without losing command of the immediate task, says Christina MacDougall at Morgan Lewis.

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Are You Happy With Your In-House Role? Take Our Survey

Is your company giving you everything you need to succeed? What are some misconceptions about working in-house? Help Law360 Pulse answer these questions and more in this year's In-House Satisfaction Survey.

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Alston & Bird Hires 2 Ex-Goodwin Procter Real Estate Pros

By Kevin Penton

Alston & Bird LLP has added two real estate attorneys previously with Goodwin Procter LLP as partners in Los Angeles, the firm announced Friday.

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US Charges 3 Over $129M AI Scam Using Fake UK Lawyers

By Laura Stewart Liberty

U.S. prosecutors said Thursday they have charged three men, including one facing extradition from London, for allegedly defrauding companies of $129 million through a scheme that used AI to impersonate executives and U.K. lawyers.

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Defeated Texas Justice Being Considered For Federal Bench

By Courtney Bublé

With the clock ticking on Republicans' control of the Senate, President Donald Trump is considering putting a Texas Supreme Court justice who just lost reelection on the federal bench.

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Ice Miller Sued Over $729K Award After Losing Federal Forum

By Andrea Keckley

A couple who hired Ice Miller LLP to defend their organization against a breach of contract suit have accused the firm in Indiana federal court of exposing them to additional litigation with a settlement that failed to preserve federal jurisdiction over future disputes.

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Japan's Anderson Mori Plans 2-Office Spring Launch In Texas

By Lynn LaRowe

Japan's Anderson Mori & Tomotsune is planning to enter the U.S. market next year with offices in Dallas and Houston, citing the Lone Star State's status as a business hub and client demand from global and Japanese businesses as factors driving the expansion.

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WilmerHale Rehires Treasury Official, Former Counsel In DC

By Jack Rodgers

A former Treasury Department official who worked as the agency's undersecretary for domestic finance has rejoined WilmerHale's financial institutions group as a partner, the firm announced Friday.

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Brief

Goldberg Segalla Adds Retail And Hospitality Partner In NJ

By Matt Perez

Goldberg Segalla LLP announced it has hired a former Reilly McDevitt & Henrich PC attorney to be a partner in its retail and hospitality practice group.

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Law360's Legal Lions Of The Week

By Kevin Penton

Susman Godfrey LLP, Langer Grogan & Diver PC, Hausfeld LLP and MoloLamken LLP lead this week's edition of Law360 Legal Lions, after the Ninth Circuit ruled that a former federal judge erred by scrapping a $4.7 billion jury verdict against the National Football League in a class action over the price of its Sunday Ticket broadcast package.

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Law Firm Sues Sierra Leone Over $361K Legal Bill

By Jared Foretek

Law firm Cohen Seglias Pallas Greenhall & Furman PC claims in a complaint filed in D.C. federal court that Sierra Leone's government stiffed it on more than $300,000 in legal fees and costs after the firm defended it against earlier claims of unpaid fees by Jenner & Block.

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Roundup

GC Cheat Sheet: The Hottest Corporate News Of The Week

By Michele Gorman

The U.S. Department of Justice's new cash rewards program for tips on criminal fraud could backfire in some cases, experts say. Elsewhere, attorneys are weighing new strategies in the wake of Texas' historic blue shift during the midterm elections. These are some of the stories in corporate legal news you may have missed in the past week.

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Brief

US Legal Sector Jobs Reached Record High In October

By Tracey Read

The legal industry's hot streak continued last month, adding 2,400 more jobs in October to reach a record high, according to seasonally adjusted data released Friday by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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Mich. Supreme Court Chief Next To Lead Chief Justice Group

By Melanie Dorsey

The Michigan Supreme Court's chief justice has been named president-elect of the Conference of Chief Justices, a national organization representing the highest-ranking state judicial officers, and she plans to focus on expanding access to legal services, reforming attorney licensing and strengthening courthouse security.

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3rd Circ. Preview: UPenn Staff Rifts, FTC $3M Fee Fight

By George Woolston

The Third Circuit began its November session by examining Tree of Life synagogue shooter Robert Bowers' appeal of his death sentence and is set to hear a number of other matters ranging from a state's bid to restore millions of dollars in food aid, to the federal government fighting a $3 million counsel fee award, to reviewing the third-party harassment test.

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Blank Rome Partner, Hotel Founder Disputes $15.6M Tax Bill

By Zak Kostro

A Blank Rome LLP partner who founded a luxury boutique hotel in Italy told the U.S. Tax Court the IRS improperly determined he owes roughly $15.6 million in taxes and penalties, disputing the agency's assertion that his hotel operations didn't qualify as a business for purposes of claiming expenses.

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Squire Patton, Baker McKenzie Hit With Data Breach Suits

By Rae Ann Varona

Squire Patton Boggs LLP and Baker McKenzie failed to protect private personal information stored in the law firms' systems from separate cyberattacks and delayed notifying affected individuals for roughly two months, two proposed class actions filed in Ohio and Illinois federal courts have alleged.

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