Analysis

Sorsby Gambling Order Deepens NCAA's Existential Crisis

By Alex Lawson

A state court decision allowing Texas Tech quarterback Brendan Sorsby to continue playing despite his confession to sports betting has exposed a vulnerability for the NCAA, with courts outstripping the association in setting rules for college sports.

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FTC Wants Zillow-Redfin Deal Presumed Illegal Ahead Of Trial

By Bryan Koenig

The Federal Trade Commission sought Wednesday to further limit Zillow and Redfin's ability to defend a rental listings syndication deal the agency says was a $100 million payoff for Redfin to exit the market, asking a Virginia federal judge to treat the agreement as a presumptively unlawful transaction.

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Valve Seeks Appeal After Judge Lets Steam Arbitrations Roll

By Caroline Simson

Valve will seek interlocutory review of a federal judge's order last month refusing to block hundreds of video game buyers from arbitrating consumer protection claims, the game developer said on Wednesday, citing the Seattle judge's observation during a hearing last month that neither side is "'sitting on comfortable ground.'"

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Kan. AG Can't Try To Stop Shale Oil Claims From Local Gov'ts

By Bryan Koenig

A New Mexico federal judge refused Thursday to let Kansas' attorney general intervene in multidistrict litigation accusing U.S. shale oil producers of conspiring with OPEC to inflate oil and fuel prices, concluding that the enforcer has no grounds or authority to try to block the claims from local governments.

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Lawmakers Reintroduce Bill To Rein In Big Tech Platforms

By Matthew Perlman

Lawmakers reintroduced legislation in the U.S. Senate on Thursday that would impose new rules on large technology platforms, barring them from blocking competition and undermining rivals by giving their own products and services an unfair advantage.

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Corteva Strikes $85M Deal In Farmer Pesticide Antitrust MDL

By Craig Clough

A group of farmers have asked a North Carolina federal judge to preliminarily approve an $85 million settlement with Corteva Inc. to resolve antitrust claims that the company used loyalty rebate programs to artificially extend their patent monopolies over certain pesticides. 

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Joe Gibbs Racing Can Fuel Up Suit Against NASCAR Rival

By Abigail Harrison

NASCAR team Joe Gibbs Racing LLC can augment its trade secrets lawsuit against a former competition director and the rival racing company that hired him, after a North Carolina federal court found that the proposed amendments aren't pointless.

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Blur Drummer Says PRS Royalties CPO Was Wrongly Axed

By Eddie Beaver

Blur drummer Dave Rowntree told an appeals court on Thursday that an antitrust tribunal wrongly refused to certify his collective action over unfair royalty distributions, arguing that not every songwriter had to demonstrate a loss for the case to proceed.

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3rd Circ. Asks How Legal Tech AI Tool Differed From Westlaw

By Ivan Moreno

A Third Circuit panel grilled ROSS Intelligence's attorney Thursday over whether the defunct legal tech startup's use of Westlaw headnotes to train an artificial intelligence-powered legal research tool was truly transformative, repeatedly asking counsel to explain how the product differed from Westlaw.

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Immigration Firm Says Attys Fraudulently Poached Clients

By Britain Eakin

A law firm recently accused of running a volume-driven immigration filing mill claimed in a new lawsuit in Ohio federal court that three attorneys and a TikTok personality orchestrated a social media campaign falsely accusing it of visa fraud as a way to poach its clients.

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RJ Reynolds-Led ITC Vape Probe To Continue, Fed. Circ. Says

By Jack McLoone

A U.S. International Trade Commission investigation into R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co.'s claims that importers are skirting restrictions on vapes will continue after a Federal Circuit panel on Thursday rejected a petition to kill the probe, finding it lacked appropriate backing.

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Texas Biz Court Lets Southwest Pilots Redo Boeing Claims

By Spencer Brewer

A Texas business court judge said the Southwest Airlines pilots union could continue its suit against The Boeing Co. for alleged economic losses resulting from the grounding of the 737 Max aircraft, but told the union it would have to better articulate the harm Boeing caused.

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Automaker Group Wants Wash. Biz Licensing Regs Shut Down

By Rae Ann Varona

The Alliance for Automotive Innovation has urged a Washington federal court to invalidate a pair of state business licensing rules, including one that expanded the definition of "soliciting," saying the regulations are unconstitutional and beyond the authority of the state's licensing department.

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Sports Tech Company Calls Rival's Licensing Claims False

By David Steele

Genius Sports has accused Panda Interactive in Delaware federal court of falsely claiming licensing deals in several states, connections with sportsbooks, and production of NFL-related content, the latest act in a multiyear legal battle between the rival sports tech companies.

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Altria Can't Halt ITC Patent Case It Calls Unconstitutional

By Ryan Davis

A Virginia federal judge on Thursday denied Altria's motion for a preliminary injunction blocking a U.S. International Trade Commission vaping patent suit against it by Juul, ruling that Altria is unlikely to succeed in its arguments that ITC patent proceedings are unconstitutional.

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Brief

Fla. Hospital Antitrust Case Paused For Cert. Denial Appeal

By Nadia Dreid

Patients who have accused hospital operator Health First of illegally fending off competition by preventing doctors from referring patients to rivals have convinced a Florida federal judge to put their lawsuit on hold while they challenge her decision to deny them class certification.

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Series

Cow Horse Makes Me A Better Lawyer

Moving an unwilling 800-pound cow while riding a horse at high speed is exhilarating, a little unhinged and, at least for me, a surprisingly effective training ground for litigation — both demand focus, preparation over rigid planning and the willingness to act despite fear, says Ashley Zitrin at Glenn Agre.

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More BigLaw Raises Predicted Despite Silence After Milbank

By Alison Knezevich

While boutiques make up many of the law firms that have quickly matched Milbank LLP's recently announced associate raises, recruiters told Law360 Pulse this week that they predict more BigLaw firms will eventually reveal their own salary hikes.

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Analysis

Insider Trading Defense May Draw On 'Varsity Blues' Playbook

By Chris Villani

After enlisting a crew of experienced attorneys, defendants charged in an insider trading case allegedly involving deal information stolen from huge law firms are preparing to use a strategy that could take some cues from the "Varsity Blues" case in the same Boston courthouse.

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Q&A

JAMS Chief Executive Says Mass Arbitrations On The Rise

By Kellie Mejdrich

Mediation giant JAMS says it has seen a major upswing in mass arbitrations in employment and other contexts, as plaintiff-side firms develop new ways of responding to language requiring out-of-court dispute resolution by companies. CEO Kimberly Taylor and veteran JAMS mediator Robert Meyer spoke to Law360 about mediation trends, with a specific focus on employee benefits disputes.

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Atty Faces Sanctions Over Fake Quotes In Taco TM Fight

By Brian Steele

A Connecticut attorney could be sanctioned for including fake case quotes and misrepresentations of the law in court filings that seek dismissal of a trademark case against a taco restaurant, a federal judge said Friday in questioning whether the documents were sullied by artificial intelligence.

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Analysis

3 Things To Know As Judge Stares Down Impeachment Push

By Kelcey Caulder

The scandal that could cost U.S. District Judge Eleanor Ross her job also threatens to cause courthouse chaos in the form of recusal motions, bids to reopen suits and uncertainty for clerks. Here, Law360 looks at three things to know about the calls to impeach the judge and their potential fallout.

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Texas Court Urged To Keep Judge Romance Suit Alive

By Adrian Cruz

In multiple filings, EJS Investment Holdings LLC has asked a Texas federal judge to reject attempts by former U.S. Bankruptcy Judge David Jones and other parties to dismiss its proposed class action over his secret romance with a former Jackson Walker LLP partner.

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'Poor Lawyering': Walmart Flub Haunts Class Attys At 9th Circ.

By Jeff Overley

Amid warnings of a chilling effect on plaintiffs counsel, a Ninth Circuit panel Friday scrutinized six-figure sanctions against attorneys whose false advertising suit targeting Walmart Inc. collapsed because of crucial fine print in an avocado oil receipt.

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No Amici In Comey Seashell Threat Case, Judge Says

By Craig Clough

A North Carolina federal judge on Friday said she will not allow any amici to weigh in on former FBI Director James Comey's criminal charges alleging he threatened President Donald Trump with a social media post, finding the parties are "ably represented" by counsel and public input is not needed.

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Ill. Judge Decries Grand Jury 'Turmoil,' Tosses Fraud Charges

By Lauraann Wood

An Illinois federal judge agreed Friday to dismiss fraud charges against two men ahead of an evidentiary hearing probing recent grand jury misconduct claims, but cautioned that "getting rid" of the case may not have prosecutors' desired effect, as such allegations continue causing "turmoil" throughout the district court.

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Deluge Of Video Evidence Overwhelms Criminal Cases

By Brandon Lowrey

Surveillance cameras and police body cameras are creating a flood of video evidence that can help prosecutors and defense attorneys build strong cases. But many have been struggling with the technical and logistical challenges that come with the sheer volume of footage.

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Roundup

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

By Laura Stewart Liberty

The past week in London has seen the FCA bring a claim against a fund manager it accused of providing investment services despite having been banned, an Ardmore unit sue a contractor two days before the construction group's collapse, and shipping and cruise giant MSC hit back at an entertainment company following separate intellectual property litigation in the U.S. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.

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Roundup

GC Cheat Sheet: The Hottest Corporate News Of The Week

By Sue Reisinger

Elon Musk and SpaceX's legal team blasted off with the largest IPO in history, with shares priced at $150 each at opening before briefly topping $176. And a new study shows investors have approved 11 of 17 companies' requests to move their incorporation from Delaware to Texas so far this proxy season.

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Law360's Legal Lions Of The Week

By Kevin Penton

Kirkland & Ellis LLP leads this week's edition of Law360 Legal Lions, after a Los Angeles jury in a bellwether trial cleared Johnson & Johnson of any liability in the deaths of three women from ovarian cancer.

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In Case You Missed It: Hottest Firms And Stories On Law360

For those who missed out, here's a look back at the law firms, stories and expert analyses that generated the most buzz on Law360 last week.

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