F-150 Drivers Denied Class Cert. In Ford Transmission Suit

By Mike Curley

An Illinois federal judge has denied class certification to a group of Ford F-150 owners who allege Ford shipped vehicles with defective transmissions, finding their warranty claims are blocked by a class action waiver, and they failed to show there was a common defect among class vehicles.

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1st Circ. Presses Amex On Merchant Arbitration Rule Change

By Julie Manganis

A First Circuit panel on Tuesday pushed back on assertions by American Express that unilateral changes to the terms of its merchant agreement did not invalidate it, as a lower court found last year in denying the card issuer's motion to compel arbitration in a dispute over anti-steering rules.

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Feature

Meet The Attys In The 340B Battle At 1st Circ.

By Mark Payne

Gibson Dunn and Dunn Isaacson Rhee attorneys presented arguments Tuesday at the First Circuit over whether drug manufacturers can intervene in a challenge to a now-suspended drug rebate program for hospitals. Law360 profiles the attorneys.

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UMG Says DistroKid Is Copyright-Infringing 'AI-Slop Pipeline'

By Craig Clough

UMG Recordings sued music distributor DistroKid in Delaware federal court Tuesday, calling it an "AI-slop pipeline" that uses copyright infringement and deceptive practices to flood popular streaming platforms with mass-generated artificial intelligence content.

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Springsteen Beats Compensation Suit Over Album Cover

By Elliot Weld

A New Jersey appellate court on Tuesday affirmed an order dismissing a suit from the estate of a classic car collector against Bruce Springsteen over compensation from use of a 1967 Pontiac GTO on an album cover, saying it was "abundantly clear" that all elements of hearsay were present to sink the case's only evidence against the musician.

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Attorney Escapes $12M Unlawful Tax Strategy Suit In Colo.

By Zach Dupont

An attorney won't face claims from a precious metals partnership and its members accusing her of advocating an unlawful tax strategy after a Colorado federal judge Tuesday granted the attorney's motion to dismiss the $12 million suit.

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College Sports Overhaul Looms Closer After Senate Vote

By Alex Lawson

The U.S. Senate on Tuesday advanced a bill that would impose sweeping regulations on college sports, teeing up a lively legislative debate as the NCAA looks to ward off a wave of antitrust lawsuits.

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Lender Alleges Housing Official Ran $2.4M Ponzi Scheme

By Aaron Keller

A real estate investment firm has accused the former executive director of a Connecticut town's housing authority of operating a Ponzi scheme that caused a $2.4 million loan to "vanish," alleging he and an associate made fraudulent assurances about proposed bonds, account balances, property values and other financing.

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11th Circ. Upholds AIG's $1.8M Yacht Fire Coverage Loss

By Hope Patti

An AIG unit cannot recoup $1.8 million from a dock builder and electrical subcontractor in connection with payments it made to a Florida policyholder whose yacht caught fire while plugged into a recently constructed dock, the Eleventh Circuit affirmed.

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Auto Parts Co. Fights Bifurcation Bid In $50M Coverage Trial

By Danielle Ferguson

An auto parts manufacturer urged a North Carolina federal court to reject an insurer's request to bifurcate an upcoming trial over claims the insurer improperly denied $50 million in coverage for COVID-19 pandemic-related losses, saying the allegations overlap too significantly to split the claims.

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Call Center Seeks Coverage For $5M Adidas Data Breach Deal

By Danielle Ferguson

A Wisconsin business process outsourcing company said in federal court that a Chubb unit breached its policy when the insurer refused to cover $5 million the call center paid to Adidas to resolve claims over data breaches that compromised the sneaker giant's customers' personal information.

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Fintech Co. Says Nuvei Bungled Mastercard Transactions

By Gina Kim

Chicago-based fintech and futures prop trading firm Topstep has sued Nuvei Technologies in Arizona federal court, alleging the payment processor concealed a system error that bungled 189,000 Mastercard transactions and then tried to improperly resubmit them, leaving Topstep's customers "blindsided with unexpected charges" and resulting in reputational harm to Topstep.

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Justices Urged To Leave Global Copyright Ruling Intact

By Elliot Weld

A Louisiana songwriter has asked the U.S. Supreme Court not to touch a ruling that allowed him to recover worldwide rights to the 1960s hit song "Double Shot (Of My Baby's Love)," saying a group of music companies had rushed the issue to the justices when only a single circuit court had weighed in.

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Golf Developer Fights Dutch Co.'s Bid To Arbitrate Tech Row

By Isaac Monterose

A golf course developer asked a Louisiana federal court to reject a Dutch golfing technology company's arbitration request for the developer's suit, which accuses the company of wrongfully trying to enforce a terminated purchase and service agreement for what it alleges is the company's faulty automated hole-in-one recording system.

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KinderCare Banned Wash. Workers' Side Jobs, Lawsuit Says

By Rachel Riley

KinderCare has been hit with a proposed class action in Washington state court accusing the nationwide childcare chain of barring employees from taking additional jobs in violation of an Evergreen State law protecting workers' moonlighting rights.

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NYC Asks 2nd Circ. To Greenlight Uber, Lyft Deactivation Law

By Dorothy Atkins

New York City has urged the Second Circuit to lift an injunction blocking a municipal ordinance prohibiting Uber and Lyft from "deactivating" drivers without formal notice and investigation, arguing that the lower court wrongly found that the companies would likely win their contract claims.

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Workers Want Investment Bank Pay Suit To Go On

By Benjamin Morse

An investment-banking enterprise and two managing directors are asking a Texas federal judge to resolve factual questions about workers' exempt status too early in the case, the employees argued, pushing the judge to keep their wage suit alive.

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Walmart, Retail Groups Doubt Value Of $200B Swipe Fee Deal

By Aneeta Mathur-Ashton

Major retail trade associations and Walmart are objecting to a $200 billion settlement over Visa and Mastercard swipe fees in New York federal court, saying the court should decertify the class or at least allow opt-outs so merchants can preserve "valuable claims that class counsel are trading away for nothing."

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Pro Checkers Player Gets Partial Win In Fla. Antitrust Suit

By David Minsky

A Florida federal judge on Tuesday handed a partial win to a checkers player in his complaint alleging he was wrongfully disqualified from competing, finding that a U.S. professional association violated antitrust laws and defamed him after he formed an alternative organization.

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OpenAI Wants To See Details Of SpaceXAI's Deal With Apple

By Craig Clough

OpenAI filed an emergency motion Tuesday in Texas federal court seeking the details of a settlement SpaceXAI inked this week with Apple over claims that Apple's deal to integrate ChatGPT into the iPhone violated antitrust law, saying the terms of the deal may undermine the antitrust allegations SpaceXAI is still pursuing against OpenAI.

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1st Circ. Suggests Appeal In Drug Rebate Case May Be Moot

By Carolyn Muyskens

A First Circuit panel raised mootness concerns as it heard arguments Tuesday from drug companies appealing a ruling that prevented them from intervening in a now-dismissed case to defend a rebate model for a federal drug-pricing program. 

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Brief

Senate Panel Weighs 6 Trump Judicial Picks From Red States

By Courtney Bublé

Six nominees for U.S. district judge appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday for their nomination hearing.

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Burford Exec, Holland & Knight Adviser Open AI-Native Firm

By Andrea Keckley

Two veterans of the legal industry announced on Wednesday that they have teamed up to launch FairPlay Law, an AI-native firm based in Manhattan and focused on representing employees.

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Montgomery McCracken Adds Ex-NJ Judge To ADR Practice

By Jake Maher

Montgomery McCracken Walker & Rhoads LLP has added a retired New Jersey Superior Court judge of 13 years as a senior counsel in Cherry Hill, who specializes in alternative dispute resolution, the firm has announced.

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Trembly Law Absorbs Miami Probate Firm Get Ahead Legal

By Madison Arnold

Estate planning firm Get Ahead Legal has merged with the Miami-based Trembly Law Firm.

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Michael Best Combines With NY-Based Kane Kessler

By Kevin Penton

Michael Best & Friedrich LLP announced Wednesday that it is combining with New York-based firm Kane Kessler PC, adding 36 attorneys and a Big Apple presence to a firm that ranked 143rd on Law360's list of the nation's largest law firms.

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Crowell & Moring Adds Ex-DOJ, FTC Antitrust Attys In DC, NY

By Alison Knezevich

Crowell & Moring LLP on Wednesday announced the hiring of two former enforcement attorneys from the U.S. Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission for its antitrust and competition group, with the firm saying it plans more growth of the practice soon.

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Weil Names New Corporate Leaders After Dept. Chair's Exit

By Anna Sanders

Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP has named two longtime private equity and mergers and acquisitions partners as the next corporate department co-chairs, promising to expand the headcount and breadth of the practice group after the former head left for Cravath Swaine & Moore LLP last week. 

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Kirkland Adds Real Estate Partner From HSF Kramer Team

By Nate Beck

Kirkland & Ellis LLP has hired a Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer LLP attorney as a partner in its real estate group. 

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Newman Saga Prompts Bill To Limit Judicial Suspensions

By Courtney Bublé

The long-running saga over Federal Circuit Judge Pauline Newman's fitness to remain on the court has exposed "major flaws" in the judicial accountability system, according to a Republican member of the House who introduced a bill Wednesday to reform it.

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Colo. Firm Accused Of Withholding 33% Malpractice Fee

By Zach Dupont

A New York attorney claimed a personal injury firm won't pay the 33% portion of an attorney fee he is owed from a settlement in a medical malpractice lawsuit in violation of a written agreement between the parties, according to a complaint filed in Colorado federal court.

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Willkie Hires Ex-Akerman Data Center Pros For Dallas Office

By Isaac Monterose

Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP has hired four former Akerman LLP real estate attorneys as partners for its data centers and digital infrastructure team in Dallas, the firm announced Wednesday.

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