Anti-SLAPP Law Doesn't Tank Firm Breakup Case, Judge Says

By Andrea Keckley

A Connecticut trial attorney and his new firm cannot invoke the state's anti-SLAPP law to dismiss claims brought by his former law partner, a state court judge held Thursday in one of multiple lawsuits stemming from Connecticut Trial Firm LLC's dissolution less than two years after it gained prominence with a record-setting personal injury verdict.

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Pepsi Bottler Hit With $630K Lien Over 23-Month Project

By Zach Dupont

A California contractor told a Colorado state court judge Thursday that the company is seeking to foreclose on a mechanics' lien of nearly $630,000 after being wrongfully terminated from a $7.6 million contract by a Pepsi subsidiary.

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Amazon Can't Push Back FTC Antitrust Trial

By Bryan Koenig

A Washington federal judge refused Friday to delay the Federal Trade Commission antitrust trial accusing Amazon.com Inc. of creating an artificial pricing floor in online retail, forcing the company to try to navigate a potential timing overlap in parallel state court litigation from the California attorney general.

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Texas Homeowners Lose Appeal In Harvey Flood Suit

By Spencer Brewer

A Texas appellate court ruled Friday that the companies behind a housing development had no duty to prevent the catastrophic flooding associated with Hurricane Harvey, handing a defeat to homeowners in a suit that appeared to pose a novel issue given the historic storm.

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Iberdrola Loses Bid To Revive Mass. Power Plant Fraud Suit

By Lauren Berg

A New York appellate court has declined to revive an Iberdrola unit's lawsuit accusing the funders of a Massachusetts power plant project of tricking the energy company into largely completing construction before interfering in the contract to avoid funding the work.

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Insurers Can't Avoid $5.3M Motel Damage Suit, Court Told

By Hope Patti

A real estate development company urged a Washington federal court to reject its insurers' bid to avoid a suit seeking $5.3 million in coverage for damage to a motel that was supposed to be converted into affordable housing, saying the carriers' arguments concerning improper service are meritless.

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Roundup

UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London

By Megan Norcott

The past week in London has seen PrivatBank sue its former oligarch owner, building materials provider Kingspan face a €100 million ($112 million) claim over Grenfell Tower cladding and energy giants VaroPreem and Viaro Energy become embroiled in an intellectual property row.

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Roundup

ERISA Recap: 6 Notable Decisions From September

By Kellie Mejdrich

The Tenth and Seventh circuits issued published opinions in two union retirement disputes, while the Sixth Circuit found that the Commonwealth of Kentucky's lawsuit against pharmacy benefit managers does not belong in state court, citing colorable federal preemption arguments. Here's more on those decisions and three other notable rulings involving the Employee Retirement Income Security Act that came down in September.

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Legal Marketing Co. Inks $600K Call Center Rep Wage Deal

By MJ Koo

Legal marketing company Lawyer.com Inc. agreed to pay $600,000 to settle claims in a New Jersey federal court that it misclassified call center representatives as independent contractors and failed to pay them overtime wages required under federal law.

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Calif. Hotels Give Chinese Bank Path To $209M In Awards

By Joyce Hanson

A California federal judge has refused to dismiss a Chinese bank's lawsuit seeking to enforce about $209 million in arbitral awards against a businessperson, ruling that hotels he bought in the state give the court jurisdiction over the case even though he doesn't live in the U.S.

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Pot Farm Seeks Review Of 6th Circ. Federal-Illegality Ruling

By Sam Reisman

A Michigan cannabis farm is asking the Sixth Circuit to reconsider a recent holding that contracts in the federally illegal marijuana industry are unenforceable, saying the ruling would cause "unimaginable instability" in jurisdictions with legalized cannabis.

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Nelson Mullins Sued In SC Over October Data Breach

By Jake Maher

Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP has been hit with a proposed class action in South Carolina federal court over a data breach that took place in early October.

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Justices Won't Eye 'Weaponized' Sanctions Of Election Attys

By Jeff Overley

Despite outrage among Ninth Circuit conservatives, the U.S. Supreme Court declined Tuesday to scrutinize six-figure sanctions of lawyers who challenged Arizona election protocols, leaving intact discipline designed to "send a message."

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Reddit Fights Proskauer's 'Hot Potato' AI Client Bid In IP Suit

By Dorothy Atkins

Reddit Inc. has urged a New York federal judge to block its former law firm Proskauer Rose from defending Perplexity AI in Reddit's suit over alleged data scraping used to train artificial intelligence models, arguing the firm can't represent Perplexity after dropping Reddit as a client like ‌a "hot potato."

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Pa. Firm Can't Toss Uber's RICO Claims Over Insurer Payouts

By Linda Chiem

A Pennsylvania federal judge allowed Uber to pursue Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act claims alleging a Philadelphia personal injury firm schemed with healthcare providers to fabricate medical records and inflate accident claims involving Uber and FedEx drivers, saying Uber doesn't lose standing just because its insurer paid its legal fees in underlying litigation.

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DOJ Cites Privacy Concerns In Rejecting NM Epstein Files Bid

By Courtney Bublé

The U.S. Department of Justice has rebuffed the state of New Mexico's request for the unredacted Jeffrey Epstein files for its investigation into possible crimes at Epstein's Zorro Ranch, saying it would hinder law enforcement operations.

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Case Dropped Against Judge Accused Of Endorsing Violence

By Madison Arnold

Ethics charges against a Florida state court judge in Jacksonville alleging he made comments appearing to endorse violence, convey bias and demean individuals during several proceedings last year have been dropped.

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What The Justices Won't Hear: A Roundup Of Cert Denials

By Taylor Bowie

The U.S. Supreme Court declined to grant a writ of certiorari to another batch of applications Tuesday, including cases involving six-figure sanctions, wine shipment laws and overtime claims. 

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Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court

By Jarek Rutz

The Delaware Chancery Court last week saw stockholders challenge Nvidia Corp.'s roughly $20 billion deal with artificial intelligence chipmaker Groq Inc., Hertz Global Holdings Inc.'s electric vehicle strategy and more than $1.5 billion in Humana Inc. stock buybacks.

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