A New York federal judge Wednesday awarded Blake Lively $407,452 in attorney fees and court costs in her defamation dispute with her "It Ends With Us" co-star Justin Baldoni, significantly less than the $8 million she had requested, citing her "blunderbuss approach" and flaws in records she submitted.
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THURSDAY, AUGUST 27, 2026 Law360 iOS App Law360 Android App Follow Law360 on Facebook Follow Law360 on LinkedIn Follow Law360 on Twitter

TOP NEWS

Blake Lively's 'Blunderbuss' $8M Atty Fee Bid Nets $407K

By Hailey Konnath

A New York federal judge Wednesday awarded Blake Lively $407,452 in attorney fees and court costs in her defamation dispute with her "It Ends With Us" co-star Justin Baldoni, significantly less than the $8 million she had requested, citing her "blunderbuss approach" and flaws in records she submitted.

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9th Circ. Panel Won't Revisit Boeing's $72M Trade Secret Loss

By Rachel Riley

A Ninth Circuit panel has rejected Boeing's bid for a panel rehearing of its August 2025 decision reinstating a $72 million jury verdict for electric jet startup Zunum Aero Inc. in a trade secret dispute, spurning the aerospace giant's fresh argument that the case belongs in the Federal Circuit because of the patent counterclaims involved.

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AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile Defeat Asus Patent Case In EDTX

By Theresa Schliep

An Eastern District of Texas jury on Wednesday cleared AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile of claims by Asus Technology Licensing Inc. and other companies that the carriers infringed a group of wireless communications patents.

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REAL ESTATE & DEVELOPMENT

Fla. Firm Must Face Fiduciary Breach Suit Over Property Deal

By Madison Arnold

A Florida state appeals court on Wednesday reversed an order dismissing a lawsuit brought by a property company alleging that Hoffman Larin & Agnetti PA and one of its attorneys aided and abetted a breach of fiduciary duty while representing a third party claiming an interest in a property owned by the company.

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ENERGY & ENVIRONMENTAL

Colo. Developer Says Xcel Delayed Providing Service

By Isaac Monterose

A residential developer based in Denver has accused utility Public Service Co. of Colorado in state court of causing its business more than $25 million in damages after repeatedly failing to provide electrical power for the developer's projects.

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Texas Appeals Court Affirms Injured Oil Worker's Loss

By Jonathan Capriel

An oil worker who was paralyzed when a wellhead fell on him failed to persuade a Texas appellate court to revive his negligence suit against the safety training contractor he blamed for the accident, with the court saying he presented no evidence that the company's training caused his injury.

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INSURANCE

Trucking Groups Urge Full 5th Circ. To Mull Penske Liability

By Linda Chiem

Trucking industry groups contend the Fifth Circuit unjustifiably expanded liability for upstream motor carriers when it recently held that trucking services giant Penske Logistics LLC could be held vicariously liable for a fatal 2018 Texas collision caused by a motor carrier that Penske knew nothing about.

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INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

Ex-Josh Cellars Exec Balks At Bid For Lit Funding Probe  

By Aaron Keller

Companies behind the Josh Cellars wine brand should be banned from probing a former executive's litigation funding deal during a November trademark royalties trial, the executive told a Connecticut state court Tuesday, arguing his cash sources are irrelevant to his attempt to seek more than $4 million through contract and fiduciary duty claims.

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Boeing Beats Bid For More Depos In Moon Mission IP Suit

By Rachel Konieczny

A Colorado aerospace company cannot conduct additional depositions in its lawsuit accusing The Boeing Co. of stealing patented technology for a NASA moon exploration program, a Washington federal magistrate judge ruled.

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Chemical Co. Reps Can't Dissolve $1.9M Trade Secret Verdict

By Ben Adlin

A federal judge on Tuesday rejected a request by three chemical sales representatives to undo a $1.9 million jury verdict for their former employer in a trade secret dispute, ruling that Silver Fern Chemical Inc. clearly demonstrated that they took confidential customer information that was valuable and not readily accessible elsewhere.

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MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT

Conn. Gallery Beats Buyer's $165K Keith Haring Art Claims

By Brian Steele

A Greenwich, Connecticut-based art gallery has prevailed on a buyer's claims that it sold him a fake Keith Haring chalk drawing for $165,000 after vouching for its authenticity.

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SECURITIES & WHITE COLLAR

Ex-Coal Exec Asks Court To Toss Bribery Conviction

By Phillip Bantz

A former coal executive convicted of authorizing bribes to an arm of the Egyptian government in a closely watched Foreign Corrupt Practices Act trial is seeking a new trial or to have his indictment tossed, arguing the government misused his criminal proffer agreement to wrongly hamstring his defense.

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Crypto CEO Says Investors Lack Proof In Refund Fraud Suit

By Sydney Price

The CEO of Power Block Coin LLC, which does business as SmartFi, asked the Pennsylvania federal court for a win in a suit alleging he refused to fulfill their "buyback guarantee" of SmartFi tokens, saying the investors cannot even show they personally bought the tokens.

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TRANSPORTATION

FCA Says Autoliv Still Missing The Mark In Air Bag Scrap

By Susan Smiley

FCA US LLC has urged a Detroit federal judge to dismiss Autoliv's amended countercomplaint in their contract dispute, saying that the automotive safety supplier acknowledged in its latest filing that it missed the deadline to request a price increase for an FCA-driven air bag redesign.

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CYBERSECURITY

Joe Gibbs Racing Beats Ex-Director's Cyber Trespass Claims

By Hayley Fowler

Joe Gibbs Racing's former competition director can't pursue counterclaims alleging the NASCAR super team violated state and federal cyber hacking statutes when it allegedly accessed "off-limits" information on his devices during a forensic review, a North Carolina federal judge ruled Wednesday in their high-profile trade secrets dispute.

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COMPETITION

Mother Of Musk's Child Calls XAI Contract Breach Claim Faulty

By Spencer Brewer

The mother of one of Elon Musk's children has told a Texas federal judge that fees xAI racked up in New York litigation cannot form the basis for the company's lawsuit in the Lone Star State, asking the court to dismiss xAI's lawsuit.

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BANKRUPTCY

Mass Tort Firm Galindo Law Can Use Cash In Ch. 11

By Clara Geoghegan

A bankruptcy judge said he would give interim approval to Galindo Law Firm's package of first-day motions Wednesday, allowing it to use cash on hand to fund operations, after the Texas mass tort firm resolved a lender's objection.

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DEALS LITIGATION

Coffee Seller's Tax Suit Counterclaims Belong In Calif.

By Zach Dupont

The founder of a California coffee equipment manufacturer asked a Colorado state court judge Monday to dismiss the bulk of counterclaims from the founder of a Colorado coffee equipment provider who allegedly hid his company's true tax designation on a loan application to push through a merger.

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PRIVATE EQUITY

Chancery Lets Investor Defend SpaceX Fund In Florida

By Jarek Rutz

The Delaware Chancery Court on Wednesday granted investor Alessandro Possati a limited default judgment allowing him to act on behalf of an investment partnership in related Florida litigation, while declining to make broader findings that could affect his remaining fiduciary duty claims.

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NATIVE AMERICAN

Consultant Says Tribal Corp. Can't Rewrite Contract Claim

By Benjamin Morse

A Colorado consulting company and its founder urged a federal judge to toss a tribal business corporation's contract claim in a trade secrets dispute, arguing the company still cannot revive the claim by asking the court to rewrite an agreement that names a different employer.

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TELECOMMUNICATIONS

Detroit Can't Fully Shake Telecom's Fiber Access Suit

By Melanie Dorsey

A Michigan federal judge has allowed a telecommunications carrier to pursue claims that Detroit discriminated against it over access to city-controlled fiber conduit, while dismissing state constitutional, antitrust and mandamus counts. 

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CANNABIS

Pot Distributor Again Files Counterclaims In Contract Dispute

By Mike Curley

A cannabis distributor has filed renewed counterclaims against its former consulting partner and a rival distributor, alleging that the rival deliberately interfered with an exclusivity agreement with the consulting partner.

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EXPERT ANALYSIS

3rd Circ. Hotel Ruling Flags Key Issues In Dynamic Pricing

The Third Circuit's recent decision in Cornish-Adebiyi v. Caesars Entertainment relies on allegations that competitors used nonpublic data to set real-time rates considered exorbitant, highlighting both the potential risks and substantial benefits of utilizing emerging technologies, say attorneys at Baker McKenzie.

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LEGAL INDUSTRY

Dems Say DOJ Opinion Aims To Foil Oversight Of White House

By Courtney Bublé

With midterm elections right around the corner, Senate Democrats are worried the new legal opinion from the U.S. Department of Justice could let the Trump Administration obstruct congressional oversight of the White House.

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ABA Faces Uphill Battle To Remain As Law School Accreditor

By Emma Cueto

The American Bar Association council responsible for accrediting law schools is fighting on multiple fronts to retain its status as a nationwide accreditor, fending off challenges at both the federal and state levels.

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Bradley Arant Launches Retail, Consumer Brands Practice

By Tracey Read

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP has launched a retail, digital commerce and consumer brands practice to help clients protect their brands and preserve public trust in fast-moving, highly regulated markets.

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LAW FIRMS IN TODAY'S NEWS

Hackstaff Snow

ArentFox Schiff

Ashurst Perkins

Baker McKenzie

Beck Redden

Blass Law PLLC

Boyd Richards

Bradley Arant

Brooks Wilkins

Brown Pruitt

C.A. Goldberg

Carmody Torrance Sandak & Hennessey LLP

Coaty and Woods

Dacus Law Firm

Duane Morris

Dykema Gossett

Eckert Seamans

Fisher & Phillips

Fletcher Farley

Fox Rothschild

Freeman Mathis

Gibson Dunn

Gray Reed

Hoffman Larin

Holwell Shuster

Hueston Hennigan

Irell & Manella

King & Spalding

Klein Thomas

Lacy Price

Liner Freedman

Maddin Hauser

Manatt Phelps

Mandelbaum Barrett

McDermott Will & Schulte

McGuireWoods

McKool Smith

McNaul Ebel

Meister Seelig & Schuster

Merkley Jones

MoloLamken

Munger Tolles

Ogden Murphy

Parker Bunt

Parker Poe

Paul Hastings

Penn Law Firm

R. McConnell Group PLLC

Ray Quinney

Robinson & Cole

Robinson Bradshaw

Scopelitis Garvin

Sebris Busto

Stream Kim

Susman Godfrey

Tousley Brain

Troutman

Williams Hart

Willkie Farr

COMPANIES IN TODAY'S NEWS

ASUSTeK Computer Inc.

AT&T Inc.

Adient PLC

American Bar Association

American Trucking Associations Inc.

Autoliv Inc.

Caesars Entertainment Inc.

California Western School of Law

Candela Corp.

Danner Inc.

Deer Finance LLC

Dell Technologies Inc.

Elite

FCA US LLC

NASCAR Digital Media LLC

Nokia Corp.

Penske Automotive Group Inc.

RealPage Inc.

Sotheby's

Space Exploration Technologies Corp.

State Bar of California

T-Mobile US Inc.

Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson

The Boeing Co.

The New York Times Co.

Truckload Carriers Association

Verizon Communications Inc.

Wayfarer Studios

X Corp.

Xcel Energy Inc.

Yardi Systems Inc.

GOVERNMENT AGENCIES IN TODAY'S NEWS

California Civil Rights Department

Colorado Supreme Court

Delaware Court of Chancery

Executive Office of the President

Federal Trade Commission

Florida Department of Transportation

Michigan Supreme Court

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Small Business Administration

Texas Supreme Court

Texas Tenth Court of Appeals

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

U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Pennsylvania

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit

U.S. Department of Education

U.S. Department of Justice

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

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

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

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

U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee

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 Pennsylvania

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

U.S. Supreme Court

United States District Court for the District of Colorado

United States District Court for the District of Nevada