California federal jurors weighing Elon Musk's challenge to OpenAI's for-profit conversion on Thursday watched prerecorded testimony from a former OpenAI board member who voted to oust CEO Sam Altman in 2023 over concerns his pattern of lies and deception fostered a "toxic culture of lying."  
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TOP NEWS

OpenAI CEO Altman Fueled 'Toxic Culture Of Lying,' Jury Told

By Dorothy Atkins

California federal jurors weighing Elon Musk's challenge to OpenAI's for-profit conversion on Thursday watched prerecorded testimony from a former OpenAI board member who voted to oust CEO Sam Altman in 2023 over concerns his pattern of lies and deception fostered a "toxic culture of lying."  

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Ex-Beneficient CEO Convicted In $150M Shell Co. Fraud

By Bonnie Eslinger

The former CEO of Texas financial services firm Beneficient was convicted by a Manhattan federal jury on Thursday of securities fraud and other charges connected with a scheme to fraudulently loot more than $150 million from now-defunct GWG Holdings, a publicly traded company for which he served as chairman.

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Netlist Backs DOJ Stance On Essential IP In Samsung Case

By Adam Lidgett

The U.S. Department of Justice is correct that having a patent included in a standard does not necessarily give the patentholder market power, Netlist said in defending itself against Samsung's lawsuit accusing it of exploiting a standard-setting process.

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Judge Wants States To Outline Live Nation Antitrust Remedies

By Matthew Perlman

A New York federal judge asked state enforcers on Thursday to outline the remedies they intend to seek from Live Nation, along with the discovery they expect to need, before deciding a schedule for the next steps in the antitrust case against the major live entertainment company.

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Jackson Hewitt Tax Loans Flout Military Credit Law, Suit Says

By Ben Adlin

A U.S. Navy service member has accused tax preparer Jackson Hewitt Inc. of overcharging military clients for short-term loans tied to tax refunds, claiming in a proposed class action the company's effective interest rates for "refund anticipation loans" exceed what is allowed under the federal Military Lending Act.

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LEGAL ETHICS & MALPRACTICE

Firm Sanctioned For Misleading Merchants In Swipe-Fee Case

By Hailey Konnath

A New York federal judge on Thursday sanctioned personal injury firm Betz & Baril PLC and its referral partner ClickFunds for misleading would-be class members in long-running antitrust litigation against Visa and Mastercard, ordering the firm and ClickFunds to notify clients about the misinformation.

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POLICY & REGULATION

Brief

New PBGC Amicus Program Offers Input On Important Cases

By Grace Elletson

Litigants involved in benefits cases that involve novel or significant pension-related issues can now ask the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. to lodge briefs shedding light on their disputes, the PBGC announced Thursday.

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REAL ESTATE & DEVELOPMENT

Insurer Needn't Cover Real Estate Co.'s $330K Arbitration Bill

By Hope Patti

An insurer is not on the hook for more than $330,000 in defense costs that a commercial real estate company and its manager incurred in arbitration with investors, a Washington federal court ruled Thursday, saying the company failed to show that the costs arose from covered fiduciary duty claims.

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ENERGY & ENVIRONMENTAL

PDVSA Says Repaying $95M Debt Is Impossible

By Keith Goldberg

Venezuela's state-owned oil company has insisted it has no way to repay some $95 million in debt to bondholders due to banks being unwilling to work with it given the pariah status of the Venezuelan government.

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INSURANCE

Insurer 'Arbitrarily' Cut NC Farmers' Coverage, Court Told

By Gianna Ferrarin

A crop insurance provider owes two farmers for the cost of arbitration proceedings and other damages they suffered after the insurer tried to halve their recovery for a tobacco crop-related loss, according to a complaint filed in North Carolina federal court.

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CONSUMER PROTECTION

Truist Pushes To Arbitrate Law Firm's Fraudulent Check Case

By Emily Johnson

Truist Bank Inc. urged a Georgia state court to dismiss a suit from an Atlanta-based law firm accusing the bank of honoring a fraudulent $34,000 check, arguing the firm agreed to arbitrate such claims.

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INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

SAG-AFTRA Wants Out Of Singer's 'Furious 7' Royalties Suit

By Katherine Smith

The Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists and its intellectual property rights distribution fund are seeking to escape a singer's lawsuit filed in California federal court claiming underpayment for his vocals in a song used in the film "Furious 7," arguing the claims are barred by federal law.

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MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT

Blake Lively's Attys Say Justin Baldoni Fight Not Quite Over

By Lauren Berg

Though Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni have settled her claims accusing his production company of orchestrating a smear campaign after she accused her "It Ends With Us" co-star of sexually harassing her, the actress' attorneys told a New York federal judge Thursday that there's still a dispute over damages and fees.

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EMPLOYMENT

Brief

Conn. Investment Firm Settles $70M Client Poach Suit

By Brian Steele

Connecticut investment firm TJT Capital Group LLC and its one-time chief compliance officer have settled a lawsuit accusing the former executive of taking 125 clients with $70 million in assets under management when he left for a new job, federal court records show.

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COMPETITION

Zillow, Redfin Can't Escape FTC's Antitrust Suit Over Ad Pact

By Jared Foretek

A Virginia federal judge denied Zillow and Redfin's bid Wednesday to toss the Federal Trade Commission's suit accusing the companies of colluding through a $100 million payment to stop competing on multifamily rental listings, ruling that the "fact-intensive nature" of the commission's complaint justifies it surviving past the pleading stage.

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Nielsen Tells 2nd Circ. To Upend Cumulus' Data-Tying Order

By Bryan Koenig

An attorney for Nielsen urged a Second Circuit panel Thursday to undo an order, which is currently stayed, effectively blocking it from conditioning media company Cumulus' access to national radio ratings data on buying its local offerings.

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GOVERNMENT CONTRACTS

Colo. Jury Asked To Award I-70 Project Contractor $32.5M

By Rachel Konieczny

A New York engineering and design firm that contracted to reconstruct a 10-mile stretch of Interstate 70 in Denver asked a Colorado state jury to award it $32.5 million for breaches it says a subcontractor made during the project's course.

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BANKRUPTCY

Kaman's Boeing Supply Suit Isn't Getting Fast-Tracked

By Jarek Rutz

The Delaware Chancery Court on Thursday refused to fast-track Kaman Aerospace Corp.'s lawsuit against Falcon Jacksonville LLC or issue a temporary restraining order requiring Falcon to keep supplying Boeing, finding that the dispute is better suited for a damages case than emergency court intervention.

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CANNABIS

Hemp Co. Says Deliverer Stole, Sold $2.5M Shipment

By Mike Curley

Hemp company Oregon AG Service LLC is suing a logistics company and delivery service in Oregon federal court, alleging that the delivery service stole and then sold for its own profit a hemp shipment valued at $2.5 million.

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EXPERT ANALYSIS

Safeguarding RWI Coverage As Materiality Focus Persists

As first-quarter broker claims reports reveal that materiality disputes remain a key driver of representations and warranties insurance claims, the scarce case law in this area indicates that including a materiality scrape provision in an RWI policy may aid policyholders with recovery, say attorneys at Reed Smith.

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Series

Speed Jigsaw Puzzling Makes Me A Better Lawyer

My passion for speed puzzling — I can complete a 500-piece jigsaw puzzle in under 50 minutes — has sharpened my legal skills in more ways than one, with both disciplines requiring patience, precision and the ability to keep the bigger picture in mind while working through the details, says Tazia Statucki at Proskauer.

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LEGAL INDUSTRY

Womble Bond Atty's 'Draconian' Penalty Gives 4th Circ. Pause

By Hayley Fowler

A Fourth Circuit panel seemed to struggle Thursday with what one judge described as a "draconian" contempt order against a Womble Bond Dickinson partner, with the panel nudging counsel for both sides toward a simpler solution that wouldn't force the court's involvement.

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Ex-Jackson Walker Atty Seeks Breakup With Romance Suit

By Adrian Cruz

A former Jackson Walker LLP partner said Thursday that she should be dropped from a suit accusing her, a former Texas bankruptcy judge she had a secret relationship with and multiple law firms of fomenting "mass corruption" in Houston's bankruptcy court.

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SEC Fines Ex-BigLaw Atty For Insider Trades On Apollo Deal

By Hailey Konnath

A former Buchalter PC shareholder has agreed to pay $71,625 to settle the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's allegations he purchased stock ahead of Apollo Global Management's $1.5 billion acquisition of Bridge Investment, which the commission said he was representing in an unrelated matter at the time.

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Comey Retains NC Criminal Defense Pro For 2nd Indictment

By Rachel Rippetoe

Former FBI Director James Comey has added a North Carolina white collar defense pro to his legal team fighting an indictment by the Trump administration over a social media post last year that prosecutors characterized as a threat of violence against the president, according to a court filing on Thursday.

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Judiciary Panel Punts AI Rules, Mulls Judges' Survey Results

By Jeff Overley

Buckle up: Efforts to modernize evidentiary rules amid artificial intelligence fears are getting bumpy, as judiciary advisers Thursday agreed to dramatically delay action while digesting an AI survey of nearly 1,000 judges and organizing a symposium of litigators and tech pros.

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Toss Of Ex-Shkreli Atty's Deal May Be Error, 2nd Circ. Hints

By Pete Brush

A Second Circuit judge hinted Thursday that a trial judge may have erred in rejecting a retirement-fund garnishment deal that would have protected Martin Shkreli's convicted former lawyer from a potential $1 million "punitive tax event."

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Analysis

How Litigation Funding Disclosure Could Affect ITC Cases

By Ryan Davis

The U.S. International Trade Commission's proposed rule to require disclosure of litigation funding in intellectual property cases could bring more transparency to disputes and promote settlements, but it could also discourage some suits if it's not carefully tailored, attorneys say.

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NC Judge Tosses Atty's Suit Against State Bar Panel Member

By Andrea Keckley

A North Carolina federal judge dismissed a suspended attorney's lawsuit against a State Bar Disciplinary Hearing Commission member he accused of bias and due process violations, finding Thursday that the defendant is entitled to absolute quasi-judicial immunity.

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Analysis

Why Compliance Is Getting Complicated In Latin America

By Phillip Bantz

White collar compliance is getting trickier for companies that do business in Latin America, according to experts, who say they are seeing big shifts in the region connected to cartel crackdowns and efforts to strengthen corporate regulations, including relatively recent pushes for voluntary self-disclosure.

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LAW FIRMS IN TODAY'S NEWS

Almeida Law Group

Bandas Law Firm

Bell Law Plc

Berger Montague

Blank Rome

Boies Schiller

Bracewell LLP

Bradley Arant

Brooks Pierce

Brown Rudnick

Buchalter LLP

Bush Gottlieb

Cleary Gottlieb

Cohen & Wolf

Cohen Weiss

Cooley LLP

Covington & Burling

Cravath Swaine

DLA Piper

Dechert LLP

Duane Morris

Early Sullivan

Ellis & Winters

Finnegan

Foster Garvey

Fox Rothschild

Gibson Dunn

Hogan Lovells

Holtzman Vogel

Irell & Manella

Jackson Walker LLP

Katten Muchin

Kirkland & Ellis

Latham & Watkins

Law Office of Tom Kirkendall

Liner Freedman

Lucas & Varga

Manatt Phelps

Meister Seelig & Schuster

Merchant & Gould

Miller & Chevalier

Mintz Levin

MoloLamken

Morris Nichols

Olsen Barton

Paul Hastings

Peiffer Wolf

Perkins Coie

Proskauer Rose

Pullman & Comley

Quinn Emanuel

Reed Smith

Robbins Geller

Robins Kaplan

Robinson & Cole

Ross Aronstam

Ryan Swanson

Scott&Scott

Shapiro Arato

Shaw Keller

Sidley Austin

Skadden Arps

Snell & Wilmer

Sterne Kessler

Sullivan & Cromwell

Thomas Coon Newton & Frost

Toberoff & Associates

Tousley Brain

Wachtell Lipton

Werner Ahari

Willkie Farr

Wilson Sonsini

Winston & Strawn

Wofsey Rosen

Womble Bond

Woods Aitken

COMPANIES IN TODAY'S NEWS

AFM & SAG-AFTRA Intellectual Property Rights Distribution Fund

American College of Trial Lawyers

American Express Co.

Amicus

Apollo Global Management LLC

Atlantic Records Inc.

Block Inc.

Bridge Investment Group LLC

Chesapeake Energy Corp.

Citigroup Inc.

Cumulus Media Inc.

Fordham University

Frost PLLC

Google LLC

Hudson Insurance Group

International Legal Finance Association

Intuit Inc.

Investment Professionals Inc.

Jackson Hewitt Inc.

Jacobs Engineering Group Inc.

LinkedIn Corp.

Live Nation Entertainment Inc.

MVB Bank Inc.

MasterCard Inc.

Microsoft Corp.

Morgan Stanley

NBCUniversal Media LLC

Netlist Inc.

Nielsen Holdings PLC

North Carolina State Bar

OpenAI OpCo LLC

PGA TOUR Inc.

Purdue Pharma LP

Sabre Corp.

Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.

Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television & Radio Artists

Super Micro Computer Inc.

Swiss Reinsurance Co. Ltd.

The Aerospace Corp.

The Boeing Co.

The Goldman Sachs Group Inc.

The New York Times Co.

Travere Therapeutics Inc.

Truist Financial Corp.

U.S. Chamber of Commerce

UBS Group AG

Universal Music Group NV

WSP Global Inc.

WSP Holdings Ltd.

Warner Music Group Corp.

Wayfarer Studios

Westwood One, Inc.

Willis Towers Watson PLC

Zillow Group Inc.

Zywave Inc.

GOVERNMENT AGENCIES IN TODAY'S NEWS

Arizona Attorney General's Office

California Civil Rights Department

Connecticut Attorney General's Office

Delaware Court of Chancery

Federal Bureau of Investigation

Federal Crop Insurance Corp.

Federal Judicial Center

Federal Trade Commission

Government of Mexico

International Trade Commission

Judicial Conference of the United States

Los Angeles Superior Court

National Institute of Standards and Technology

New York Attorney General's Office

North Carolina Department of Justice

Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp.

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

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

U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit

U.S. Department of Defense

U.S. Department of Homeland Security

U.S. Department of Justice

U.S. District & Bankruptcy Courts of Southern District of Texas

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 Connecticut

U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon

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

U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina

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

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

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

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

U.S. Navy

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission

U.S. Supreme Court

United States District Court for the District of Colorado

Virginia Attorney General's Office

Washington Attorney General's Office