Fund Firms Lose $10M Fee Bid After Short-Swing Trial Win

By Katryna Perera

Kartoon Studios doesn't have to cover $10 million in legal fees for two investment firms that won a federal jury trial over short-swing profits, New York's trial court ruled, finding the indemnity provisions of the parties' agreements only cover the investors' purchase of Kartoon securities, not later share sales.

Opinion attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Dish, Disney Working On Deal In Sling TV Suit

By Matthew Perlman

Dish Network told a New York federal court that settlement discussions are in progress for Walt Disney Co.'s breach of contract suit that challenged the satellite provider's short-term Sling TV passes and spurred Dish to lodge antitrust counterclaims over Disney's carriage licensing deals.

1 document attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

LIV Golf, Jon Rahm Reach Separation Agreement

By Rick Archer

LIV Golf is asking a New Jersey bankruptcy judge to ratify a deal with Jon Rahm to allow the golfer to cancel his contracts and exit the embattled league.

Motion attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Fla. Body Armor Dealer On The Hook For $7M, Ukraine Says

By Joyce Hanson

Ukraine's Defense Ministry petitioned a Florida federal court to enforce an approximately $7 million arbitral award it won against a body armor dealer on claims that some units in a shipment turned out to be defective and did not pass ballistic testing.

Petition attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Toyota Must Face Minivan Defect Warranty Suit, Judge Says

By Gina Kim

A California federal judge has largely allowed Toyota minivan drivers to proceed with their proposed class action alleging Toyota didn't repair defective second-row seat rails for months, ruling they sufficiently pled the warranty's purpose failed since it didn't repair or replace the parts within a reasonable time frame. 

Order attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Ex-Racing Director Says Deleted Texts Don't Merit Sanctions

By Hayley Fowler

The former competition director for NASCAR superteam Joe Gibbs Racing LLC said his "candor" should save him from sanctions after he admitted to deleting text messages with the owner of a rival team before his old employer sued him for trade secrets theft.

2 documents attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Banks, Credit Union Escape Pig Butchering Scam Suit

By Sydney Price

Several financial institutions have been released from a suit brought by a California couple accusing them of allowing a so-called pig butchering investing scam that cost the pair $600,000, with a federal judge ruling the couple does not show how the defendants are liable for the harm, and that some of the claims were brought too late.

Order attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Union Can't Arbitrate Quarrel Over Kraft Retiree Benefits

By Grace Elletson

A Delaware federal judge blocked a Teamsters union from arbitrating claims that the Kraft Heinz Company improperly withheld health benefits from retirees, ruling the parties' collective bargaining agreement makes clear that the dispute must be resolved through different means.

2 documents attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Huawei Founder Played It Cool In FBI Interview, Jury Hears

By Stewart Bishop

A former FBI agent on Thursday told a Brooklyn federal jury about an interview he conducted with Huawei founder and CEO Ren Zhengfei, saying the executive suggested that the Chinese telecommunications firm had no direct dealings with Iran and respected intellectual property rights.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Josh Cellars Cos. Say Court, Not Jury, Must Decide Defenses

By Aaron Keller

Entities that help manage and market Josh Cellars wines say a Connecticut state judge, not a jury, must decide fairness defenses in former company president Thomas Steffanci's bid for millions in royalties, urging the judge to decline Steffanci's request to revisit a September order as a November trial date looms.

5 documents attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Earth Sues Ex-CEO Over Walmart Business, Arbitration

By Jarek Rutz

Earth Enterprises Inc. and two affiliated investment entities have sued former company chief Philippe Meynard in the Delaware Chancery Court, seeking to block him from expanding a Massachusetts arbitration while also accusing him of hiding the loss of Walmart business before a 2021 sale and later putting his own interests ahead of Earth Enterprises. 

Complaint attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Texas Appeals Court Says Perot VC Suit Belongs In Biz Court

By Spencer Brewer

A Texas appellate court on Thursday found that a multimillion-dollar suit brought by a Dallas businessman against billionaire Ross Perot Jr. belongs in the Texas Business Court, saying the businessman's claims arose from the sale of a healthcare company.

Opinion attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

California Judge Grants Discovery In Cannabis Debt Dispute

By Jonathan Capriel

An investor and a cannabis license holder will have to rework their lawsuit accusing a couple of scheming to steal majority ownership in a Los Angeles dispensary by creating $3.4 million in "phantom debt," a California state court judge ruled.

3 documents attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Clippers Salary Cap Probe Offers Investigation Tips For Cos.

The NBA's recent investigation into whether the Los Angeles Clippers circumvented salary cap rules offers an unusually detailed look at how a significant organizational probe was conducted and how its findings were presented, offering practical lessons for companies conducting their own investigations, say attorneys at Wiley.

Report attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Mayer Brown Lands 2 Sheppard FDA Partners

By Tracey Read

Mayer Brown LLP has bolstered its life sciences capabilities with two former Sheppard partners, including that firm's former U.S. Food and Drug Administration practice leader.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Greenberg Traurig Hires Sidley Private Funds Atty In Chicago

By Jack Rodgers

Greenberg Traurig LLP has hired a former Sidley Austin LLP counsel, who spent nearly a decade before her last law firm position working with Balyasny Asset Management in a range of related legal roles, the firm recently announced.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Analysis

Expect These Post-Midterm Probes If The Hill Changes Hands

By Phillip Bantz

The top investigative priorities of a potentially Democratic-controlled Congress are coming into sharper focus with the midterms weeks away and could impact an array of companies and individuals in technology, finance and energy, experts say.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

White & Case Taps 47 Partners In Largest US Class Since 2022

By Ashish Sareen

White & Case LLP has elevated 47 lawyers to its partnership, its largest promotion round since a record 59 lawyers became partners at the start of 2022.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Law360's Legal Lions Of The Week

By Kevin Penton

Schlichter Bogard LLC leads this week's edition of Law360 Legal Lions, after the full Eleventh Circuit overturned decades-old precedent that took a strict view of when federal benefits law claims could be brought in court.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Dems Press Kirkland Again For Details Of $125M Trump Deal

By Courtney Bublé

A trio of congressional Democrats once again accused Kirkland & Ellis LLP of subverting their oversight requests into the $125 million deal the firm cut with the Trump administration last year.

Letter attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Ex-Legal Tech Co. Exec Says Pregnancy Got Her Fired

By George Woolston

A legal technology company abruptly fired its director of partnerships after it learned she was pregnant, and has since withheld a nearly $40,000 bonus, according to a lawsuit lodged in New Jersey state court.

Complaint attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Google Users' $85M Fee Ask Stalls Over 'Utterly Lacking' Bill

By Dorothy Atkins

A California federal judge on Thursday rejected an $85 million attorney fee request following a $700 million settlement in a consumer-led case against Google, ruling that counsel's submitted billing records are "utterly lacking in information demonstrating what work was done and for what purpose," while granting leave to amend the request.

Order attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Roundup

GC Cheat Sheet: The Hottest Corporate News Of The Week

By Michele Gorman

The top investigative priorities of a potentially Democratic-controlled Congress are coming into sharper focus with the midterms just weeks away and could impact companies in various sectors. In the meantime, one BigLaw firm formed a board to oversee the use of artificial intelligence and evaluate proposals from its practice groups and sectors. These are some of the stories in corporate legal news you may have missed in the past week.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Monopoly Allegations Test ABA's Role In Legal Education

By Emma Cueto

The American Bar Association is facing mounting claims that the council responsible for law school accreditation acts as a monopoly, an accusation levied amid a broader, politicized battle over the future of legal education.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Brief

Cooley Reportedly Matches Milbank Pay Scale Starting In '27

By Matt Perez

Cooley LLP will reportedly increase U.S. associate base compensation in line with the pay scale set by Milbank LLP in June beginning on Jan. 1.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Analysis

Could A Criminal Sentencing Case Upend Loper Bright?

By Katie Buehler

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch is concerned that a ruling instructing trial courts to defer to the U.S. Sentencing Commission's interpretation of federal sentencing guidelines could blow a "pretty big hole" in the court's recent rejection of deference doctrines. His colleagues, however, don't appear as perturbed.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Google Class Attys Get $22.7M Despite Hourly Rate Rebuke

By Dorothy Atkins

A California federal judge has approved Google's $68 million class action settlement to resolve a long-running privacy suit, including class counsel's requested $22.67 million fee award, commending the parties' hard work while also criticizing a plaintiffs attorney's "patently unreasonable" proposed $3,000 hourly rate.

Order attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Survey Of Ill. Attys Reveals Mental Health Struggles, Stigma

By Celeste Bott

A survey of nearly 7,000 Illinois lawyers found roughly 20% rated their mental health as fair or poor, according to an Illinois Supreme Court commission report documenting the toll of workplace stress on the state's attorneys and judges, their alcohol and drug use, and barriers to getting them care.

Report attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

San Benito Foods Deal Gets Early OK, With Notice Concerns

By Jonathan Capriel

A California federal judge has given her initial blessing to a nearly $1 million deal that would end a Monterey Bay-area township's lawsuit against a tomato cannery that claimed the cannery's noxious odors diminished residents' property values.

Order attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Balancing The Scales: Criminal Appeals, Sentencing Rules

By Orlando Lorenzo

The Second Circuit has been ordered to take another look at a murder-for-hire conviction in light of the high court's new miscarriage-of-justice exception for criminal appeal waivers, and the top courts in Pennsylvania and Michigan will look at the retroactivity of new sentencing rules. Here, Law360 highlights access to justice stories arising from litigation, verdicts and judgments you may have missed.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

In Case You Missed It: Hottest Firms And Stories On Law360

For those who missed out, here's a look back at the law firms, stories and expert analyses that generated the most buzz on Law360 last week.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »