OpenAI is pushing back after Elon Musk said he would seek to have Sam Altman removed as the artificial intelligence company's CEO in a case challenging its conversion to a for-profit entity, telling a California federal court that the last-minute change adds a host of issues just weeks before trial.
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WEDNESDAY, APRIL 15, 2026 Law360 iOS App Law360 Android App Follow Law360 on Facebook Follow Law360 on LinkedIn Follow Law360 on Twitter

TOP NEWS

OpenAI Says Musk Remedy Shift Leaves 'No Case Left To Try'

By Matthew Perlman

OpenAI is pushing back after Elon Musk said he would seek to have Sam Altman removed as the artificial intelligence company's CEO in a case challenging its conversion to a for-profit entity, telling a California federal court that the last-minute change adds a host of issues just weeks before trial.

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VLSI's Calif. IP Suit Against Intel Revived By Fed. Circ.

By Dani Kass

The Federal Circuit breathed new life into one of VLSI Technology's patent infringement suits against Intel Corp. on Tuesday, concluding a California federal judge wrongly interpreted an agreement between the companies to limit the scope of litigation.

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Westlake Inks $67M Antitrust Deal With PVC Pipe Buyers

By Hailey Konnath

Purchasers of polyvinyl chloride pipe urged an Illinois federal judge Tuesday to sign off on a proposed $67 million deal with Westlake Corp. that would put to rest allegations it and other PVC pipe producers conspired to fix prices, according to a motion filed in Illinois federal court.

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Rakoff Says $300M Piracy Case Among Worst He's Seen

By Elliot Weld

U.S. District Judge Jed S. Rakoff entered default judgment Tuesday at the request of a group of music companies against the online shadow library Anna's Archive, calling the piracy instigated by the site one of the most "horrendous acts of piracy brought to my attention."

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Trump Signs Revised HEAR Act For Nazi-Looted Art

By Joyce Hanson

President Donald Trump has signed into law the Holocaust Expropriated Art Recovery Act of 2025, which amends the original 2016 act to establish procedures for civil claims seeking to recover artwork and other property lost between 1933 and 1945 due to Nazi persecution.

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LEGAL ETHICS & MALPRACTICE

Mintz Can't Halt Texas Malpractice Suit For Fee Fight In Mass.

By Elliot Weld

A Massachusetts federal judge on Tuesday declined Mintz Levin Cohn Ferris Glovsky and Popeo PC's request to halt a former client's legal malpractice case against the firm in Texas federal court while the two fight over a $2 million "success fee" the law firm claims it is owed.

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REAL ESTATE & DEVELOPMENT

Builder Says Tunnel Overseer Can't Ax PLA Suit Amid Appeal

By Braden Campbell

A New Jersey builder urged a federal judge to keep alive its challenge to a union labor requirement for work on a project to tunnel from New Jersey to Manhattan, saying its challenge to an injunction denial precludes dismissal at the trial court and its arguments are valid.

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CONSUMER PROTECTION

Parts Co.'s Suit Says Chrysler Drivers Can't Link It To Fraud

By Taylor Bowie

The manufacturer of seat height adjusters in Chrysler and Dodge vehicles has said it never directly sold defective products to Texas drivers bringing fraud claims in a federal proposed class action alleging the producer concealed a defect alongside the carmaker.

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Amazon Suit Alleges $4M Fraud By 'Refund Abuse' Ring

By Ben Adlin

Amazon launched a lawsuit Tuesday targeting architects of what the retail giant claimed is an international fraud ring known as RBK that allegedly cheated the company out of $4 million in products through a "refund abuse" scam that allows users to obtain refunds despite keeping the goods.

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INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

Aerospace Firm Says Ex-Consultants Built 'Copycat' Rival

By Ganesh Setty

A woman-owned aerospace and defense manufacturing company accused its former business consultants in Colorado state court of conspiring to take its confidential information and form a "copycat" business, alleging they've deprived it of business opportunities and devalued its trade secrets.

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Wash. Appeals Court Revives Podiatrist Trade Secrets Case

By Elliot Weld

An appeals court in Washington state has reinstated a case brought by a Seattle-area podiatry practice against a former employee accused of stealing patient data for his separate practice.

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HEALTHCARE & LIFE SCIENCES

3rd Circ. Upholds J&J Injunction Bid Loss In Biosimilar Fight

By Adam Lidgett

The Third Circuit on Tuesday ruled that a Johnson & Johnson subsidiary couldn't justify its bid for an order blocking Samsung Bioepis from paving the way for a Cigna unit to launch a generic version of an anti-inflammatory treatment.

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4th Circ. Revives Pharma Bid To Block Maryland's 340B Law

By Lauren Berg

A split Fourth Circuit panel on Tuesday tossed a Maryland district court's order denying a preliminary injunction to pharmaceutical manufacturers that have challenged a state law addressing drug delivery in the federal 340B discount program, pointing to its recent ruling that West Virginia's similar statute is likely preempted.

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Trade Group Latest To Sue Wash. Over 340B Drug Pricing Law

By Rachel Riley

Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America claims a new Washington state law attempts to illegally reshape the federal 340B Drug Pricing Program and singles out participating drugmakers with burdensome regulations, according to a fresh federal lawsuit that follows similar constitutional challenges mounted by Novartis and AbbVie.

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SECURITIES & WHITE COLLAR

Peru Seeks New Docs In Case Claiming Toll Road Corruption

By Joyce Hanson

Peru has pressed a New York federal judge to let it seek further discovery as it pursues criminal proceedings over a purportedly corrupt toll road project that led to $200 million in arbitral awards, claiming an earlier discovery request granted by the court has revealed new issues.

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COMPETITION

Google Sued By Rival Over 'Interrelated Web' Of Monopolies

By Rae Ann Varona

Google's "anticompetitive chokehold" over Android app distribution and in-app billing markets has kept Portugal-based Android app store alternative Aptoide from being able to compete with the tech giant, Aptoide alleged in a complaint filed Tuesday in California federal court challenging Google's "interrelated web" of monopolies.

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Jeld-Wen, Steves Close The Door On 10-Year Merger Fight

By Nadia Dreid

The nearly decade-old fight between two doormakers, which resulted in the first-ever court ordered divestiture in a private merger challenge, is officially done and dusted after the Virginia federal court that has been overseeing the case granted Jeld-Wen's request to drop its claims.

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Red State AGs Fight Bid To Trim Suit Against BlackRock

By Katryna Perera

Republican attorneys general are opposing a bid by BlackRock and State Street to trim a suit accusing the asset managers of driving up coal prices, arguing that the firms' assertion that the suit cannot get past the U.S. Supreme Court's decision on federal antitrust damages claims is incorrect.

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PRIVATE EQUITY

3 Firms Guide TPG's Bet On College Sports Rights Giant

By Al Barbarino

Alternative asset manager TPG said Tuesday it has agreed to acquire Learfield, a leading college sports media and technology company, in a deal steered by three law firms. 

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TELECOMMUNICATIONS

Dish Parent Looks To Escape Suit Over $54M Comcast Deal

By Nadia Dreid

EchoStar is coming out swinging against a $54 million Comcast lawsuit accusing the company of wrongly asserting force majeure to escape a contract between Comcast and Dish Wireless, telling the court that the government probe it was caught up in counts as an unforeseen event.

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PEOPLE

Holland & Knight Hires ERISA, Compensation Pro From Katten

By Andrea Keckley

Holland & Knight LLP announced on Monday that it had hired a Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP partner who focuses on the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, employee benefits and executive compensation.

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EXPERT ANALYSIS

Getting To Know The Key Partners In Nuclear Power Projects

As more major technology companies and hyperscalers enter into energy offtake agreements with operators of existing, restarting and planned nuclear plants, it is essential that all stakeholders in such partnerships understand the roles and responsibilities of the key entities involved in a nuclear power project, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

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Insights From OppFi Suit On Building Calif. Bank Partnerships

A California state judge’s tentative ruling, walking through business evidence that Utah bank FinWise was not a “rent-a-bank” that fintech firm Opportunity Financial used as a front to dodge interest rate caps on in-state lenders, offers a helpful road map for structuring legally compliant bank-fintech partnerships under California law, say attorneys at Manatt.

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Keys To Building Defensible Psychedelic Therapy Programs

Given the rapidly evolving legal environment for psychedelic therapies and heightened liability and compliance risks facing providers, meticulous documentation, robust risk management protocols, and proactive engagement with professional organizations and insurers are essential strategies, say Kimberly Chew at Husch Blackwell and L. Alison McInnes at Mindful Health Solutions.

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Assessing EcoFactor's Impact On Damages Experts' Opinions

Though the Federal Circuit's ruling in EcoFactor v. Google gave rise to concerns that damages experts would be forced to rely on undisputed facts, recent case law suggests that those concerns are unwarranted, says Christopher Loh at Venable.

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LEGAL INDUSTRY

Grassley Says Cruz And Lee Top His List If Alito Retires

By Courtney Bublé

Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said on Tuesday that if U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito were to retire then he would recommend the president nominate either Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, or Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah.

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Ginsburg Hack Conviction Upheld For Man Who Blamed Cat

By Craig Clough

The Fourth Circuit affirmed Tuesday a former hospital transplant coordinator's conviction for illegally accessing U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's healthcare records, upholding a ruling that the defendant was not improperly coerced when he told FBI agents a coworker or his cat may have been responsible.

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Judiciary Panel Backs Legal Finance Project, Subpoena Rules

By Jeff Overley

Federal judiciary advisers agreed Tuesday to develop transparency obligations for litigation funders despite "vehement" views in the defense and plaintiffs bars, while also advancing controversial subpoena rules involving remote testimony and process servers.

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Analysis

IBM's FCA Deal Creates Unease Over DEI Enforcement Scope

By Madeline Lyskawa

IBM's agreement to pay the Trump administration $17 million to resolve allegations it violated the False Claims Act with policies aimed at increasing the diversity of its workforce continues to raise more questions than answers about what the administration views as illegal diversity, equity and inclusion programs.

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DC Circ. Halts Boasberg's 'Unnecessary' Alien Enemies Probe

By Britain Eakin

A split D.C. Circuit panel on Tuesday halted for the second time U.S. District Judge James Boasberg's criminal contempt probe of Trump administration officials for willfully violating his order barring removals of Venezuelans under the 1798 Alien Enemies Act.

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House Dem Threatens Bondi Contempt Over Epstein Files

By Courtney Bublé

The top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee is looking to hold former Attorney General Pam Bondi in contempt if she does not appear before the committee to discuss the U.S. Department of Justice's handling of the Epstein files.

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Grassley Hits 100 Judge Confirmations As 2 Clear Senate

By Courtney Bublé

The Senate on Tuesday confirmed the 100th district judge under Sen. Chuck Grassley's leadership of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

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Investors Want Sanctions For Fake Citations In LGBCoin Suit

By Carolina Bolado

Investors in the "Let's Go Brandon" meme token urged a Florida federal judge Monday to issue "case-terminating sanctions" against the man behind the coin, saying he and his counsel have lied in discovery, disobeyed court orders and submitted fake legal citations in at least eight filings.

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Calif. Federal Judges Weigh Audio Access For Civil Jury Trials

By Dorothy Atkins

California Northern District federal judges are seeking public comment on modifying local court rules to allow jurists to audio stream civil jury trials in the district, which regularly presides over high-stakes courtroom fights involving tech giants such as Google, Meta, OpenAI and Apple.

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IOLTA Group Owed Notice Of Settlements, Mass. Justices Say

By Julie Manganis

Massachusetts' highest court said Tuesday that a committee overseeing lawyers' trust accounts should have been given a chance to request potential leftover funds prior to a judge's approval of a class action settlement, but saw no reason to unwind the deal.

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LAW FIRMS IN TODAY'S NEWS

A&O Shearman

Babst Calland

Blank Rome

Boies Schiller

Brennan Legal PLLC

Burnham & Gorokhov

Buzbee Law Firm

Cahill Gordon

Casey Lundregan

Cherry Johnson Siegmund James

Clement & Murphy

Connell Foley

Cooper & Kirk

Corr Cronin

Covington & Burling

Davis Polk

Davis Wright Tremaine

Dechert LLP

Di Pietro Partners

Dykema

FBT Gibbons

Foley Hoag

Fox Rothschild

Freshfields

Genova Burns

Gibson Dunn

Hogan Lovells

Holland & Knight

Hueston Hennigan

Hunton Andrews

Husch Blackwell

Irell & Manella

Joseph & Hall

Joseph Greenwald & Laake

Kaplan Fox

Kasowitz LLP

Katten Muchin

King & Spalding

Kirkland & Ellis

Klein Thomas

Koutoulas Law

Lanier Law Firm

Latham & Watkins

Manatt Phelps

Mayer Brown

McElroy Deutsch

McGuireWoods

Merchant & Gould

Metaxas Brown

Mintz Levin

MoloLamken

Morgan Lewis

Morrison & Foerster

Munger Tolles

Nixon Peabody

Ogborn Mihm

Proskauer Rose

Robinson Bradshaw

Ropes & Gray

Sayre Law Offices

Scheef & Stone

Scott&Scott

Shepherd & Shepherd

Sidley Austin

Sills Cummis

Steckler Wayne

Steptoe LLP

Sullivan & Worcester

Susman Godfrey

Toberoff & Associates

Venable LLP

Vinson & Elkins

Wachtell Lipton

Wheeler Trigg

White & Case

WilmerHale

Zigler Law Group

COMPANIES IN TODAY'S NEWS

AT&T Inc.

AU Optronics Corp.

AbbVie Inc.

Allergan PLC

Amazon.com Inc.

American Civil Liberties Union

Apple Inc.

Applied Materials Inc.

Arbutus Biopharma Corp.

Arch Resources Inc.

Atlantic Coast Conference

Billings Clinic

BlackRock Inc.

Boost Mobile LLC

Brookfield Asset Management Ltd.

Brookfield Infrastructure Partners LP

CVS Health Corp.

Charlesbank Capital Partners LLC

Chimei Innolux Corp.

Citigroup Inc.

Clearing House Payments Co. LLC

Comcast Corp.

EchoStar Corp.

Epic Games Inc.

FCA US LLC

FedEx Corp.

Finjan Holdings Inc.

Fordham University

Fortress Investment Group LLC

George Washington University

Georgia-Pacific LLC

Google LLC

Herzog

Intel Corp.

International Business Machines Corp.

JELD-WEN Inc.

JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Johnson & Johnson

KPMG International

Lawyers for Civil Justice

Lear Corp.

Lincoln Property Co.

Meta Platforms Inc.

Microsoft Corp.

Moderna Inc.

Motorola Mobility LLC

NASCAR Digital Media LLC

NXP Semiconductors NV

Natera Inc.

National Collegiate Athletic Association

New York University

Nokia Corp.

Odebrecht SA

OpenAI OpCo LLC

OppFi Inc.

OppLoans

Pacific Legal Foundation

Peabody Energy Corp.

Pharmaceutical Research & Manufacturers of America

Polygroup Inc.

Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.

Southeastern Conference

Space Exploration Technologies Corp.

Spotify Technology SA

Steves & Sons Inc.

TPG Capital LP

The Bank of Nova Scotia

The Cigna Group

The UPS Store

The Vanguard Group Inc.

Therapeutics Inc.

Twitter Inc.

United Steelworkers

Warner Bros. Records Inc.

Wells Fargo & Co.

Westfield Capital Management

YouTube Inc.

GOVERNMENT AGENCIES IN TODAY'S NEWS

Energy Information Administration

Federal Bureau of Investigation

Federal Communications Commission

Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

Federal Reserve Bank of New York

Food and Drug Administration

Judicial Conference of the United States

Los Angeles Superior Court

Maryland Attorney General's Office

Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court

Nuclear Regulatory Commission

Patent Trial and Appeal Board

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

U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit

U.S. Department of Energy

U.S. Department of Homeland Security

U.S. Department of Justice

U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware

U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida

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

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

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

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

U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

U.S. House of Representatives

U.S. Postal Service

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission

U.S. Senate

U.S. Supreme Court

United States District Court for the District of Colorado

United States District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia

Washington Attorney General's Office

West Virginia Attorney General's Office