Analysis

Image Search Technology Raises New Copyright Questions

By Ivan Moreno

Technology that can uncover decade-old online images is testing the practical limits of copyright’s discovery rule, as courts weigh reasonable diligence against the reality that sophisticated search tools still miss infringement and defendants may no longer possess records proving authorization.

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High Court Should Skip Ruby Tuesday Benefits Suit, SG Says

By Alex Wittenberg

The U.S. solicitor general has urged the Supreme Court to decline to consider a suit from former Ruby Tuesday executives alleging Regions Bank inadequately protected their retirement plan benefits that were liquidated in bankruptcy, saying the "idiosyncratic" nature of the dispute makes it a poor candidate for high court review.

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Parler Ouster Talk Was 'Reaction' To Bad CEO, Jury Told

By Cara Salvatore

Billionaire Rebekah Mercer testified Tuesday that her team's strategizing about getting rid of Parler's then-CEO was simply "reacting" to his poor performance, even before the Jan. 6 insurrection sent the social media app "to hell in a handbasket."

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Securitas Can't Arbitrate Wage Class Action, Wash. Panel Says

By Ben Adlin

A former Securitas worker's proposed wage-and-hour class action against the guard service will move forward following a Washington appeals panel's ruling Monday that upheld a lower court's rejection of the company's bid to force the ex-employee into arbitration.

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Meta AI Glasses Privacy Suit Expands To Add Bystander Class

By Lauren Berg

Dozens of consumers are joining forces to sue Meta Platforms over allegations that the tech giant surreptitiously stores private videos captured by its "smart" glasses to train its artificial intelligence models, adding claims on behalf of bystanders who never agreed to be recorded, let alone used for training.

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5th Circ. Judge Hints Court Order With AI Errors Can't Stand

By Spencer Brewer

A Fifth Circuit judge wanted to know why a panel should keep intact a court order blocking an anti-DEI Mississippi law that contained artificial intelligence hallucinations, asking whether the judges could confidently find that made-up citations did not ultimately sway the district court's decision.

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Northwest MLS Settles Compass' Listing Rules Antitrust Suit

By Rachel Riley

Northwest Multiple Listing Service and Compass Inc. have reached a settlement ending Compass' antitrust lawsuit targeting Northwest MLS' policy requiring brokerages to list all properties on its platform before marketing them elsewhere, with the listing service announcing Monday that it will introduce a new "first look" status as part of the deal.

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Hotel Cos. Owe For Stalled Arbitration Costs, Fla. Judge Says

By David Minsky

A Florida federal judge denied a request by two Spanish companies to avoid interest on an arbitration award involving missed rental payments to a Panamanian hotel-casino operator during the COVID-19 pandemic, finding there was a "case or controversy" even though costs were paid more than a year after the proceeding ended.

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NC Resort Community Members Accuse HOA Of Self-Dealing

By Nate Beck

Members of an owners association for a North Carolina resort community claim the complex's owner has diverted at least $25,000 from the governing body in a scheme that inflated budgets for landscaping and trash pickup to hide the self-dealing.

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Patent Owner Urges Fed. Circ. To Rethink Marking Decision

By Ryan Davis

A patent licensing company has urged the Federal Circuit to reconsider its ruling that patent owners must ensure that all licensees mark their products with patent information in order to recover presuit damages, saying the holding flouts the law and creates risks for patent owners.

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Judge Trims Gospel Singer's Claims In Contract Fight

By Elliot Weld

A Georgia federal judge has trimmed claims brought by a gospel musician who sued his business manager and record label, claiming that his copyright interests were stolen and he was deprived of royalties.

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NJ College Absolved Of Gender Bias For Not Reinstating Prof

By George Woolston

A New Jersey federal jury sided with The College of New Jersey over a professor who alleged the college's finance department was run like an old boys' club, finding the college did not discriminate or retaliate against the professor over her reappointment.

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McLane Model Keeps Drivers Overtime-Exempt, 9th Circ. Says

By Ben Adlin

A Ninth Circuit panel on Tuesday affirmed a lower court's ruling that truck drivers behind a proposed class action against food distributor McLane Foodservice Inc. are exempt from overtime pay, holding that the employees engaged in interstate commerce despite driving only in California.

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Crypto Investment Firm Accused Of Fraud Must Face Ga. Suit

By Sydney Price

A Texas-based crypto investment company can't dodge a fraud suit brought against it in Georgia federal court, after a judge said the suit shows the firm and its management transacted business in the Peach State and used a business dinner in Atlanta to tout their offerings.

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Aiolos Seeks To Block Mass. Suit Over $1B GSK Deal

By Jarek Rutz

Aiolos Bio Inc. and two of its founders have asked the Delaware Chancery Court to stop a former Tier1 Bio Inc. stockholder from pursuing a Massachusetts lawsuit over Tier1's 2023 dissolution and Aiolos' later $1 billion sale to GlaxoSmithKline LLC, arguing he agreed to litigate such corporate disputes exclusively in Delaware.

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Thomson Reuters Cyberattack Hits North American Courts

By Bonnie Eslinger

A recent cyberattack on Thomson Reuters' court management software affected files associated with court systems in 11 states, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Canada, and may have exposed sealed documents and individuals' personal information, according to a Wednesday announcement from the technology and information services company.

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Calif. Bill Regulating Atty AI Use Heads To Newsom's Desk

By Emily Sawicki

A bill regulating attorneys' and arbitrators' use of generative artificial intelligence has unanimously passed the California State Legislature and is headed to Gov. Gavin Newsom's desk.

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'Astonished' Homebuyer Says Atty Email Lapse Caused Hack

By Pete Brush

A New York City law firm has been ordered to provide internet security and login information to a homebuyer who claims she was left in "shock" when an impostor with access to her lawyer's email tricked her into wiring away over $730,000.

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House Rejects Amendment To Fix Court At 9 Justices

By Courtney Bublé

The House failed to pass a proposed constitutional amendment on Wednesday that would keep the number of U.S. Supreme Court justices at nine.

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Dems Call Subpoenas' Secrecy Request 'Abuse Of Authority'

By Aneeta Mathur-Ashton

Democratic lawmakers Sen. Ron Wyden, Ore., and Rep. Pramila Jayapal, Wash., have called for an investigation into subpoenas issued from federal law enforcement to private companies that contain nondisclosure provisions and carry threats of legal consequences for noncompliance.

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Tyson's Price-Fixing Deal Merits $27.5M Atty Fees, Buyers Say

By Dorothy Atkins

Beef direct purchasers asked a Minnesota federal judge Tuesday to award class counsel $27.5 million in fees, or one-third of Tyson's $82.5 million price-fixing settlement, arguing that the deal was reached after six years of hard-fought antitrust litigation and adds to another settlement, bringing the total recovery to $135 million.

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JPMorgan Seeks Stay Of $20M Javice, Amar Fee Order

By Jarek Rutz

JPMorgan Chase & Co. urged the Delaware Chancery Court on Wednesday to pause enforcement of an order requiring it to advance more than $20 million in disputed legal fees to convicted Frank founder Charlie Javice and former executive Olivier Amar, arguing the bank could permanently lose the money before it gets a chance to challenge the ruling.

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ABA Outlines Attys' Duties To Clients With Intellectual Limits

By Jack Karp

Attorneys have the same obligations to clients with decision-making limitations, should abide by those clients' decisions regarding their representation and must work to maintain an ordinary client-lawyer relationship as much as possible, the American Bar Association said in an opinion released Wednesday.

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