A federal judge in Seattle declined Wednesday to block hundreds of video game buyers from arbitrating consumer protection claims against Valve Corp., saying the "multibillion-dollar platform" is relying on a contractual provision that's likely unenforceable because it's "one-sided and overly harsh."
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TOP NEWS

Valve Can't Press Pause On Steam Gamers' Arbitrations

By Rachel Riley

A federal judge in Seattle declined Wednesday to block hundreds of video game buyers from arbitrating consumer protection claims against Valve Corp., saying the "multibillion-dollar platform" is relying on a contractual provision that's likely unenforceable because it's "one-sided and overly harsh."

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FIFA Faces NJ, NY Probe Over 'Fake Scarcity' In Sales

By George Woolston

The attorneys general of New Jersey and New York said on Wednesday that they subpoenaed FIFA over its ticketing practices for the eight World Cup matches scheduled to be hosted in the Garden State.

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SpaceX Nabs $2.29B Space Force Data Network Contract

By Ganesh Setty

The U.S. Space Force said it has competitively awarded a $2.29 billion contract to SpaceX under its "space data network backbone" program to help provide a secure, high-speed communications network in space.

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Keanu Reeves Vouches For Director Who Conned Netflix

By Bonnie Eslinger

Actor Keanu Reeves wrote a letter to a Manhattan federal judge to seek leniency for director Carl Erik Rinsch, and Rinsch included it in a memo he submitted to the court asking for no prison time after being convicted of defrauding Netflix out of $11 million to make a never-delivered TV series.

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LEGAL ETHICS & MALPRACTICE

Pierce Atwood Rips Billionaire's 'Absurd' Suit Over Asset Sale

By Sydney Price

Pierce Atwood and two attorneys urged a Massachusetts federal judge to reject a Ukrainian billionaire's suit blaming them for a $1.8 million damages order in investor litigation over the billionaire's failed biotech company, saying his own wrongdoing led to the judgment.

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Perkins Coie Docs At Issue In Omani Co.'s Malpractice Case

By Sarah Jarvis

An Oman-based screw and nail manufacturer has urged a Washington state judge to force Perkins Coie LLP to hand over a trove of documents related to the firm's past work representing the Middle Eastern company in a U.S. Department of Commerce probe, saying more information is needed to assess the law firm's defenses against claims its mistakes cost the company hundreds of millions of dollars.

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ENERGY & ENVIRONMENTAL

Ecuador Oil Co. Must Arbitrate $650M Fraud Suit

By Caroline Simson

A Pennsylvania federal judge on Wednesday ordered Ecuador's state-owned oil shipping company to arbitrate its $650 million lawsuit over events at the heart of an impeachment scandal involving former Ecuadorian President Guillermo Lasso, ruling that underlying arbitration clauses are valid and enforceable.

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REAL ESTATE & DEVELOPMENT

Investor Accuses FNB Of Forcing Pittsburgh Tower Takeover

By Matthew Santoni

An investor in Pittsburgh's FNB Financial Center claims in a lawsuit filed in Pennsylvania state court that the new tower's namesake tenant sabotaged filling out the office space and suppressed rent revenue in order to keep a $28 million loan from converting to equity, and using that loan to buy out the other investors.

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TRANSPORTATION

Truck Stop Giant Gets $22M Judgment In Biz Sale Row

By José Luis Martínez

Truck stop operator Pilot Travel Centers LLC and an affiliate have secured a more than $22 million judgment in the Texas Business Court after settling claims over a financed oilfield transportation business sale.

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INSURANCE

Insurer's $1M Settlement Breached Consulting Firm's Policy

By Hope Patti

A professional liability insurer breached its contract with an Illinois-based consulting firm when it exhausted policy limits by settling a suit against the firm's employee without the firm's consent, a federal court ruled, saying a reasonable jury could find that the company was injured by the breach.

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Brief

Golf Club Ends Hurricane Coverage Fight With Allianz Unit

By Abigail Harrison

A multimillion-dollar insurance coverage brawl between an Allianz unit and a private golf club in which the club said it was unfairly denied coverage for damages caused by Hurricane Helene has settled ahead of trial, according to a mediation report.

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MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT

Baseball Podcaster Sued By Ex-Producer Over Pay

By Julie Manganis

Baseball podcaster Jared Carrabis and his production company were hit with a proposed class action in Massachusetts on Wednesday by a former producer who says Carrabis used the end of a sponsorship deal to stop paying him and other personnel on his podcasts at the end of February.

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SPORTS & BETTING

FIFA Corruption Charges Get Officially Tossed

By Stewart Bishop

A New York federal judge signed off Wednesday on the dismissal of charges in the massive FIFA-related corruption dragnet against a former 21st Century Fox executive and an Argentine sports marketing company, months after prosecutors said they were dropping the case.

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Brownstein Hyatt Faces DQ Bid In Sports Betting Biz Fight

By Alex Lawson

A sports-betting executive suing her former employer for defamation and contract breach is looking to oust the company's Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck LLP attorneys, telling a Nevada federal judge that the firm's prior work for her creates a conflict.

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COMPETITION

Live Nation Wants AGs' Discovery To Wait On New Trial Bid

By Bryan Koenig

Live Nation has told a New York federal judge that its bids for a new trial or judgment in its favor should go before state attorneys general to get discovery as they seek the forced divestiture of Ticketmaster to address the live music giant's monopoly.

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LEGAL INDUSTRY

Analysis

Meet Biden's Attys Fighting DOJ Release Of Memoir Materials

By Jeff Overley

Former President Joe Biden has selected Hecker Fink LLP lawyers well acquainted with politically charged litigation for his extraordinary new lawsuit accusing the U.S. Department of Justice of orchestrating a congressional inquiry in order to divulge "highly personal" records to the Heritage Foundation.

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Chicago US Atty Revamps Grand Jury Rules After Misconduct

By Parker Quinlan

Chicago's top federal prosecutor announced on Wednesday a new suite of rules for how grand jury investigations are handled after an Illinois federal judge accused the prosecutor's office of misconduct in a case against six immigration activists.

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Ex-Judges Urge Court To Scrutinize Trump-IRS Deal

By Jack McLoone

A group of 35 former federal judges pushed for a Florida federal court to reopen President Donald Trump's now-settled $10 billion tax leak case against his own Internal Revenue Service, alleging that Trump and the DOJ deceived the court.

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Trump Taps Ohio Appeals Judge For Federal Bench

By Courtney Bublé

President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday he's nominating state Judge Matthew Byrne as a U.S. district judge for the Southern District of Ohio.

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ProPublica Denied Access To Ranbaxy Antitrust MDL Docs

By Gianna Ferrarin

A Massachusetts federal court denied ProPublica's bid to unseal court filings in settled multidistrict litigation alleging a subsidiary of Indian drugmaker Sun Pharmaceuticals illegally delayed market entry of generic drugs, ruling the nonprofit news organization's request came too late in the case.

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Titan Of The Plaintiffs Bar: Keller Rohrback's Gretchen Freeman Cappio

By Andrea Keckley

By the time Volkswagen was exposed for touting the low emissions of cars that secretly released nitrogen oxide pollutants up to 40 times the legal limit in the U.S., Keller Rohrback LLP's Gretchen Freeman Cappio knew she wasn't interested in defending corporate giants.

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LAW FIRMS IN TODAY'S NEWS

Ahmad Zavitsanos

Allen Matkins

Alston & Bird

Arnold & Porter

Bailey Duquette

Baker & Hostetler

Brito PLLC

Brooks Pierce

Brown & James

Brownstein Hyatt

Bucher Law PLLC

Corr Cronin

Cravath Swaine

Debevoise & Plimpton

Dechert LLP

Dugan Law Firm

Gibson Dunn

Greenberg Traurig

Hagens Berman

Hecker Fink

Houston Harbaugh

Jackson Lewis PC

K&L Gates

Keller Rohrback

King & Spalding

Kirkland & Ellis

Klaris Law

Latham & Watkins

Lieff Cabraser

Lowey Dannenberg

Maynard Nexsen

McNaul Ebel

Peabody & Arnold

Perkins Coie

Phelps Dunbar

Pierce Atwood

Rivero Mestre

Saul Ewing

Sherin & Lodgen

Skadden Arps

Sperling Kenny

Susman Godfrey

The Quinlan Law Firm LLC

Williams & Connolly

Wilson Elser

Winston & Strawn

Zeman & Womble

COMPANIES IN TODAY'S NEWS

Allianz SE

American Arbitration Association

Barstool Sports

Bet.Works Corp.

Boston Red Sox

CBR Systems Inc.

Daiichi Sankyo Co.

Democracy Forward Foundation

DraftKings Inc.

Equipment Transport LLC

F.N.B. Corp.

Federalist Society

Federation Internationale de Football Association

Ferrari SpA

Fox Corp.

Garick LLC

IMDb.com Inc.

Live Nation Entertainment Inc.

Major League Baseball Inc.

Marriott International Inc.

McKinsey & Co. Inc.

MetLife Inc.

Netflix Inc.

Ohio State University

Pathway Genomics Corp.

Patreon Inc.

Philadelphia Consolidated Holding Corp.

Pilot Travel Centers LLC

Ranbaxy

Space Exploration Technologies Corp.

Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd.

Universal Studios Inc.

Valve Corp.

Volkswagen AG

Xcel Energy Inc.

GOVERNMENT AGENCIES IN TODAY'S NEWS

Arizona Attorney General's Office

Commonwealth of Massachusetts

Congressional Budget Office

Delaware Court of Chancery

Executive Office of the President

Federal Bureau of Investigation

Federal Trade Commission

Food and Drug Administration

Internal Revenue Service

New Jersey Attorney General's Office

New York Attorney General's Office

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

U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York

U.S. Department of Commerce

U.S. Department of Justice

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs

U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia

U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts

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

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

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 Southern District of Florida

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

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

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

U.S. House of Representatives

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement

U.S. Marine Corps

U.S. Supreme Court

United States District Court for the District of Nevada