'What Will Take Me To $1B?': Trial Probes OpenAI Exec's Diary

By Dorothy Atkins

OpenAI President Greg Brockman's private journal took center stage Monday in a California federal jury trial over Elon Musk's challenge to OpenAI's for-profit conversion, revealing that just days after telling Musk that OpenAI would remain a nonprofit, Brockman privately asked himself, "What will take me to $1B?"

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Wells Fargo, Lloyd's Beat $900B Fraud Suit Over Wire Error

By Katryna Perera

A Maryland federal judge has permanently tossed a lawsuit brought by Alliance Global Capital Fund and a cheese shop that sought $900 billion in damages alleging Wells Fargo refused to redirect funds it knew were credited to the wrong account, finding a majority of the case's claims were brought too late.

Opinion attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Attys Defend $85M Fee Bid Blasted By Judge In Google Deal

By Bonnie Eslinger

Consumers who pursued an antitrust class action against Google urged the California federal judge who criticized their 98,000 hours billed as "grotesquely bloated" to approve their $85 million fee request, emphasizing Friday that they filed suit a year before state attorneys general joined the case and maintained a leading role in the litigation.

Brief attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Nexstar Tells Justices DirecTV Fee Case Creates Circuit Split

By Nadia Dreid

Nexstar is not pleased with the Second Circuit's decision to revive DirecTV's antitrust suit accusing the broadcasting giant of trying to fix the price of retransmission fees, and it's hoping the U.S. Supreme Court will step in and overturn the ruling.

Petition attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Trump-Backed Firm Says Crypto Exec Ran Smear Campaign

By Sydney Price

Trump family-tied crypto firm World Liberty Financial LLC hit back at crypto billionaire Justin Sun with a defamation suit Monday, claiming he bet against a token he publicly hyped as part of an alleged short-and-distort scheme.

Complaint attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Analysis

Spirit Airlines' Demise To Reshape Low-Cost Competition

By Linda Chiem

Rival airlines have scrambled to boost routes, plug service gaps and snatch up Spirit Airlines customers in the two days since the budget carrier's demise, raising alarms about what other casualties might be in store for an airline industry reeling from skyrocketing jet fuel costs.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Calif. Firm Accused Of Withholding Fees From Dying Partner

By Hailey Konnath

The wife of a late Carpenter & Zuckerman LLP partner says the firm withheld hundreds of thousands of dollars in fees from her husband before he died of cancer, claiming he spent his final months "pleading for funds" and living in "constant fear" that he would die without securing financial security for his family.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Lee & Hayes Wins Liability Ruling In Fee Fight With Ex-Client

By Ben Adlin

An Idaho-based 3D printing firm broke a fee contract with its former legal counsel at Lee & Hayes PC, a Washington federal judge ruled Monday, rejecting the company's contention that the firm had agreed to reduce its $7.2 million contingency fee to a $3 million fixed rate.

Order attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Construction Co. Seeks $2.9M Over Lejeune Build Delays

By Ganesh Setty

A construction company has accused a demolition subcontractor in North Carolina federal court of delaying facility construction for more than 1,000 days at the U.S. Marine Corps' Camp Lejeune training base, seeking roughly $2.9 million in damages.

Complaint attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Exxon Execs Never Pressured Profitability Analysts, Jury Hears

By Spencer Brewer

Former Exxon Chief Executive Rex Tillerson testified Monday that the company's top brass never pressured employees to make the company's holdings seem more profitable than they were, telling a jury in Texas federal court that he stood by the reports the company issued to investors.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Utility Districts Violated Canada-US River Treaty, Judge Says

By Elaine Briseño

A federal judge found Monday that a group of public utility districts in Washington state had breached the U.S.' Columbia River Treaty by failing to contribute their pledged share of hydroelectric power to Canada.

Order attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Broker Says It's Not To Blame For Harvard's Lack Of Coverage

By Hope Patti

An insurance broker told a Massachusetts federal court that it had no common law duty to report claims made against Harvard University to the school's excess insurers in a suit seeking to recover legal fees Harvard expended in litigation that upended affirmative action.

2 documents attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Hospital Group Calls Anthem's Out-Of-Network Plan Unlawful

By Hope Patti

The California Hospital Association urged a state court to block Anthem Blue Cross' implementation of a new policy that penalizes participating facilities for using nonparticipating providers, saying the plan is illegal, fraudulent and an unfair business practice.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Cormidi Can't Press Trade Claims After Payments, Court Told

By Aaron Keller

Trade law and contract claims by Cormidi USA Inc., the American arm of an Italian construction and landscaping machinery-maker, have been rendered moot by Wesco Inc.'s debt payments amid a lawsuit accusing two shared executives of self-dealing, Wesco and its owner Robert Testa told a Connecticut state judge Monday.

3 documents attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Benjamin Moore Wins $4.2M In Royalties Fight With Greek Co.

By George Woolston

A New Jersey federal court has awarded Benjamin Moore & Co. $4.1 million after it reversed its decision to allow counterclaims from a former authorized licensed retailer to proceed in the paint maker's suit over alleged unpaid royalties.

Order attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Ex-Google Worker Says Co. Can't Dodge Cancer Firing Suit

By MJ Koo

A former Google Cloud salesman who claims the company fired him during cancer treatment to avoid a nearly $4 million life insurance payout told a Connecticut federal court that Google's latest bid to dismiss his suit should be denied.

Memorandum attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court

By Jarek Rutz

The Delaware Chancery Court this past week handled a wide-ranging docket of deal disputes, advancement fights, stockholder suits and contract claims, with several matters turning on timing, forum limits and the remedies available when transactions or governance agreements break down.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

SPAC Says Investor Bought In Knowing $29M Deal Had Failed

By Katryna Perera

The sponsor of a blank check company linked to energy giant Nabors Industries Ltd. pushed back against an investor suit alleging its top brass unfairly claimed a $29 million settlement despite missing a deadline to merge with another company, arguing the investor bought shares knowing the acquisition already failed.

Motion attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Managers Of Embattled Easement Say RICO Suit Lacks Details

By Kat Lucero

Investment fund managers behind a conservation easement donation whose charitable tax deduction was embroiled in litigation asked a Georgia federal court to toss a racketeering suit against them by a pair of investors, arguing the fraud claims do not match the allegations.

Brief attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Gas Stations Bound To Visa Swipe Fee Deal, 2nd Circ. Says

By Bryan Koenig

A Second Circuit panel refused Monday to let a group of gas stations separately sue Visa and Mastercard over their swipe fees, holding the would-be plaintiffs cannot get out of a $5.6 billion antitrust settlement the credit card giants inked with merchants.

Opinion attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Buchanan Ingersoll Adds Fox Rothschild Litigator In NY, NJ

By Jake Maher

Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney PC added a new litigation partner in New York and New Jersey from Fox Rothschild LLP who brings decades of experience in complex commercial disputes and high-stakes matters.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

DOJ's Stance On Antitrust And Patent Law Reflects Balance

Recent statements of interest in patent litigation and a speech from a key U.S. Department of Justice official communicate the view that strong patent rights and competition policy are complementary, and offer important guidance for intellectual property practitioners and businesses navigating patent enforcement, standard‑setting and licensing, say attorneys at Wiley.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Assessing The 9th Circ.'s Recent Stock Drop Dismissal Trend

The recent decision in Nova Scotia Health Employees' Pension Plan v. Comerica is an important circuit-level addition to the growing trend of Ninth Circuit securities class action dismissals on loss causation grounds, which have used a contextual analysis premised on stock drops that are modest, typical and short-lived, say attorneys at Paul Weiss.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Enviro Ruling And A New Law Signal Shift In La. Legacy Cases

Together, a Louisiana state court decision in WMH Farms v. Apache Corp. and an incoming statutory regime signal a sea change for legacy litigation in Louisiana, as courts make it harder to establish proof of contamination, and lawmakers narrow available remedies once contamination is proven, says Philip Wood at Jones Walker.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

2 AI Snafus Show Why Attys Can't Outsource Judgment

The recent incident involving Sullivan & Cromwell where citations in a filed motion were fabricated by artificial intelligence, as well as a punitive ruling from the Sixth Circuit in U.S. v. Farris, demonstrate that the obligation to supervise AI has belonged and always will belong to lawyers, says John Powell at the Kentucky School Boards Association.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Bondi Spurs Ethics Doubts By Using DOJ Official As Counsel

By Courtney Bublé

Harmeet Dhillon, an official with the U.S. Department of Justice, is representing former Attorney General Pam Bondi in proceedings before the House oversight committee, which Democrats on the panel say raises ethical quandaries.

Letter attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Military Atty Can Prosecute Minn. Civilian Despite Regulations

By Jack Karp

A Minnesota federal judge won't stop a military attorney from being appointed to prosecute a civilian accused of assaulting federal immigration officers, despite finding that the appointment violates binding U.S. Department of Defense regulations.

Order attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

DOJ Apology For Hidden Warrant Not Satisfying For Judge

By Tom Lotshaw

A Rhode Island federal judge, whom the U.S. Department of Homeland Security criticized for releasing a noncitizen with an alleged overseas warrant for homicide, was dissatisfied with an assistant U.S. attorney's apology for not disclosing the warrant to the court beforehand.

Response attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Wash. Bar Task Force Spotlights Atty Mental Health Issues

By Rachel Riley

A Washington State Bar Association wellness survey of roughly 900 members found that nearly 10% said they experienced suicidal thoughts or self-harm in the past year, and about 20% expressed concerns about their alcohol consumption, a task force reported to bar leadership on Saturday.

Report attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Lewis Brisbois Gets Ex-Paralegal's Claims Sent To Arbitration

By Adrian Cruz

A Florida state judge determined that a former Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith LLP paralegal has to arbitrate her claims accusing the firm of defamation and costing her a job at another firm.

Order attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Sinema Pans 'Gross Distortion' By Ex-Guard's Wife In Tryst Suit

By Abigail Harrison

Former Arizona U.S. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema on Friday doubled down on her contention that a North Carolina federal court lacks jurisdiction over a lawsuit alleging she destroyed a marriage by sending lascivious texts to her ex-security guard.

1 document attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Analysis

DOJ's In-House Detention Legal Aid Plan Is MIA

By Courtney Bublé

A year ago, U.S. Department of Justice officials said the government would be taking over a program historically run by nonprofits to provide legal orientations and referrals for pro bono representation for adults in immigration detention facilities. But those involved in the program say the Trump administration hasn't taken any steps to run the program.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

2nd Circ. Raises Concern Over Challenge To NY US Atty's DQ

By Stewart Bishop

A Second Circuit panel on Monday voiced concern over the U.S. Department of Justice's argument that a now-former acting U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of New York was serving lawfully when he subpoenaed the New York Attorney General's office over a pair of cases disfavored by President Donald Trump.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Maduro Gets June Court Date After US Relents On Atty Fees

By Pete Brush

A Manhattan federal judge on Monday directed former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro to return to court in June, after he and his wife, Cilia Flores, reached an apparent agreement with the Trump administration to access Venezuela government funds for their legal fees.

2 documents attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Mass. Justices Uneasy Over Judge's Handling Of ICE Incident

By Julie Manganis

Massachusetts' top court on Monday appeared concerned that a state district court judge in 2018 offered to detain a defendant sought by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, as the justices considered a public reprimand.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Atty Seeks Docs To Back Ogletree DQ Bid In Bias Suit

By Adrian Cruz

A Georgia attorney on Monday asked a federal judge to allow discovery related to her bid to have Ogletree Deakins Nash Smoak & Stewart PC disqualified from defending ADT LLC against discrimination claims while concurrently defending Microsoft Corp. in the attorney's own pregnancy bias suit.

Motion attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Longtime South Fla. Federal Judge James King Dies At 98

By Carolina Bolado

U.S. District Judge James Lawrence King, a Nixon appointee who spent more than half a century on the federal bench and helped shape the Southern District of Florida, died Saturday at the age of 98.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Calif. District OKs Civil Court Audio Feeds Including Musk Trial

By Dorothy Atkins

The Northern District of California modified local court rules late Friday to allow judges to stream audio for civil jury trials in the district, accompanying its announcement with a separate notice that the high-profile Elon Musk v. Sam Altman trial over OpenAI's for-profit conversion is available to access via audio stream.

1 document attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »