Jury Says Homebuilder Owes $21.6M For Sewer Gas Exposure

By Spencer Brewer

A Texas jury hit a Fort Worth homebuilder with a $21.6 million verdict after finding the company built plumbing vents that ended in the attic of a custom home, causing sewer gas exposure for the family that lived there and leading to lasting health issues.

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2nd Circ. Skeptical Of Reviving $4.4M 'Multiplex' COVID Suit

By Brian Steele

A Second Circuit judge cast doubt Wednesday on a Connecticut medical practice's claim that insurers owe $4.4 million for COVID-19 testing, noting that the tests at issue were actually for nearly two dozen viruses and were vastly more expensive than those that only detected the novel coronavirus.

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Perrigo To Pay $10M To End Consumer Gerber Antitrust Suit

By Hailey Konnath

Perrigo will pay $10 million to consumers accusing the company of cutting an anticompetitive agreement with Gerber to maintain a monopoly in the store-brand infant formula market, according to a motion filed in New York federal court Tuesday.

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Whoopi Goldberg's Pot Co. Must Take Fraud Claim To Trial

By Carla Baranauckas

A New Jersey state judge tossed a landlord's lawsuit seeking unpaid rent from television personality Whoopi Goldberg's cannabis company, finding that the proposed dispensary lacked required municipal approvals, but said a jury must decide whether the landlord, a former mayor, fraudulently misrepresented the property's licensing status.

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Atty Sanctioned For Vulgar Emails To Opposing Counsel

By Elliot Weld

A Texas federal magistrate judge has sanctioned an attorney who serves as principal for an oil and gas exploration company locked in a trade secret misappropriation case with a rival after opposing counsel complained of his expletive-ridden emails containing ad hominem attacks.

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Fox Rothschild Beats Daycare's Malicious Prosecution Suit

By George Woolston

A New Jersey state court dismissed an adult daycare company's suit against Fox Rothschild LLP and one of its attorneys related to their prosecution of a fraudulent loan lawsuit that led to a $65,000 sanction against the firm, according to a court order.

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Farmers Insurer Must Face Proposed Class Life Policy Claims

By Rachel Riley

A Seattle federal judge refused on Tuesday to toss a proposed class action against a Farmers Insurance subsidiary, concluding the plaintiff has leveled valid contractual and consumer protection claims based on contentions that the insurer overcharged for life insurance and underpaid interest on policyholder accounts.  

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LG Says It Doesn't Owe Insurer For Range Fire Damage

By Gianna Ferrarin

LG Electronics USA Inc. doesn't owe an insurer for coverage it paid to a pair of homeowners after the cooktop burner on their LG electric range allegedly caused a fire, LG said in an answer to an insurer complaint removed to North Carolina federal court.

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Genentech Wins Judge's OK Of $18M Novartis Award

By Joyce Hanson

A D.C. federal judge has enforced a nearly $18 million arbitral award against Novartis Pharma AG following its dispute with biotechnology firm Genentech Inc. over a licensing agreement for an eye medication.

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Kroger's 'Zero Sugar' Syrup Draws Allulose Labeling Suit

By Celeste Bott

Kroger was hit with a proposed class action in Illinois federal court Wednesday alleging its maple syrup's "Zero Sugar" label misleads shoppers because it contains allulose, joining a growing number of suits following a Seventh Circuit ruling that the sweetener qualifies as sugar under federal labeling rules.

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Roblox, Epic Say Minor Can't Buck Arbitration, Keep Gaming

By Mike Curley

Roblox Corp., Epic Games Inc. and Microsoft Corp. are each asking a Pennsylvania federal judge to reconsider an order denying their bids to arbitrate a suit alleging their platforms addicted a minor to gaming, saying the minor can't disaffirm the arbitration agreement and keep using the platforms.

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Talent Firm Beats Apparel Co.'s CEO Search Suit

By Ganesh Setty

A Michigan federal court tossed an athletic apparel retailer's lawsuit against a talent search firm after a CEO candidate the retailer hired then allegedly lost it millions of dollars, ruling the talent firm still fulfilled its contractual obligations.

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Litigation Funding Partners Clash Over Shift In Del. High Court

By Jarek Rutz

Priority Pre-Settlement Funding LLC and Brett K. Findler urged the Delaware Supreme Court on Wednesday to revive claims accusing Findler's former business partner of quietly shifting their litigation-finance business into hedge funds the partner controlled, while the other side argued Findler knew about the new structure, agreed to it and helped put it in place.

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Colo. Judge Mulls Coors' Bid To Stop Suppliers' Contract Exits

By Rachel Konieczny

Coors Distributing Co. LLC urged a Colorado state judge Wednesday to block a beer brand supplier from terminating its decades-long contract with the beer wholesaler until arbitration occurs, arguing that the supplier's contract exit presents a "real risk" that other suppliers will end their agreements with the wholesaler.

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Cannabis Co.'s Ex-Legal Chief Says Sale Stripped Assets

By Zach Dupont

A Colorado cannabis company owes nearly $180,000 in severance to its former chief legal officer due to the company's inability to pay its liabilities following a zero-cash sale to a buyer attached to one of the company's co-founders, the former executive told a Colorado state court Wednesday.

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LIV Golf OK To Tap $54M, Enter Into RSA Amid Player Talks

By Alex Wittenberg

LIV Golf secured a New Jersey bankruptcy judge's blessing on Wednesday to borrow $53.6 million in Chapter 11 and assume a $300 million restructuring agreement, giving the debtor more time to try to persuade players to join the revamped, golfer-owned league it has dubbed LIV 2.0.

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Athletes Must Consider PR Risks Surrounding IP Enforcement

NFL player Jayden Daniels' demand for Louisiana State University to cease using his name, image and likeness, and the flurry of social media memes that ensued from this incident, highlight the challenges of navigating the balance between intellectual property legal strategy and public relations, say attorneys at McAndrews Held.

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Bankruptcy Deadlines, Concessions Can Decide Lien Priority

The Fifth Circuit's recent decision in Adler v. Energy Debt Holdings warns buyers of secured claims to watch for binding concessions in earlier proceedings and court-imposed lien challenge deadlines, says Jennifer Maleski at Dilworth Paxson.

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What Lawyers Should Know Before Accepting Crypto Payment

As clients increasingly request to pay legal fees, retainers and escrow funds using cryptocurrency, lawyers should consider how only a handful of state bar authorities have addressed the issue with varying ethics opinions, as well as the related questions that no authority has yet answered, says attorney Felix Shipkevich.

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How To Use AI In Employment Contract Drafting

Before using artificial intelligence to draft employment contracts, law firms and employers must assess practical ethical guardrails, appropriate use cases, core risk areas and validation workflows, says Samuel Mitchell at Smith Gambrell.

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Watchdog Wants Probe Of Trump Press Secretary's Atty Claim

By Jack Karp

A nonprofit government watchdog on Wednesday asked the State Bar of California to investigate whether the new White House press secretary has claimed to be an attorney without being licensed to practice law.

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Ex-BigLaw Atty Wants Firm Docs For Insider Trading Defense

By Carolyn Muyskens

A former BigLaw associate accused of insider trading is seeking records from ex-employers Sidley Austin LLP, Latham & Watkins LLP and Goodwin Procter LLP to help fight charges that he tipped others about nonpublic deals the firms were working on.

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Quinn Emanuel Seeks Arbitration Of $1.7M Fee Dispute

By Caroline Simson

Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP is urging a California federal court to order an entrepreneur to arbitrate malpractice claims stemming from the firm's representation of her in a sexual harassment claim against a technology investor as it seeks to collect more than $1.7 million in unpaid fees.

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Baker Botts Atty Seeks $3.4M In Fees After Defamation Suit

By Madison Arnold

A Baker Botts LLP patent attorney has moved for almost $3.4 million in attorney fees and expenses in a defamation suit an inventor brought against her that was dismissed.

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DLA Piper Accused Of Malpractice In Investor's Soccer Deals

By Bonnie Eslinger

American businessman John Textor has filed a legal malpractice suit in Florida against DLA Piper over the firm's representation in connection with an investment vehicle he created to acquire soccer clubs in the United Kingdom and other countries, claiming his damages could exceed hundreds of millions of dollars.

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