Google Keeps Chrome, Payments, But Must Prop Up Rivals

By Bryan Koenig

A D.C. federal judge imposed sweeping requirements on Google on Tuesday meant to prop up search engine rivals with data, but rejected the U.S. Department of Justice's demand that the company spin off its Chrome browser or that it be barred from paying for search engine placement.

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Billions Or 'Bogus'? Google Privacy Case Goes To Calif. Jury

By Bonnie Eslinger

Google should pay billions of dollars in compensatory damages for unlawfully collecting data from 98 million cellphone users, a lawyer for a class of consumers told a California federal jury during closing arguments Tuesday, while Google said it obtained consent and called the damages sought "bogus."

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Amazon Judge Unseals Ruling Certifying Huge Antitrust Class

By Craig Clough

A largely unredacted version of a Washington federal judge's order certifying a class of roughly 300 million consumers in a sweeping antitrust case accusing the e-commerce giant of inflating prices through its merchant policies was filed Friday, offering a window into the court's viewpoints after the initial order was sealed.

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Disney Inks $10M Deal With FTC Over Kids' Data Collection

By Allison Grande

Disney has agreed to pay $10 million and overhaul how it labels child-directed videos on YouTube in order to resolve the Federal Trade Commission's claims that the entertainment giant unlawfully collected personal data from children under 13 without parental consent, the commission said Tuesday. 

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FTC, Amazon Urged To Iron Out Antitrust Discovery Tiff

By Rachel Riley

A Washington federal judge handling the Federal Trade Commission's landmark antitrust case against Amazon suggested on Tuesday the parties continue working toward a solution after the commission protested that the company failed to pass on documents received from other online retailers in related litigation in California.

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Google Calls DOJ Ad Tech Expert 'Unqualified'

By Bryan Koenig

Google asked a Virginia federal judge to block key U.S. Department of Justice evidence from the upcoming trial in which the government will seek the breakup of the company's advertising placement technology business, arguing its internal analysis on the feasibility of a breakup is protected.

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$33M Pfizer Antitrust Deal OK'd, First MDL Trial Date Set

By P.J. D'Annunzio

A Pennsylvania federal judge has granted preliminary approval for a $33 million settlement between Pfizer and a class of direct purchasers claiming it fixed the prices of generic drugs, while also setting a date for the first bellwether trial in the antitrust litigation.

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DOJ Says Illinois Tuition Perks Illegally Disfavor US Citizens

By Ben Adlin

Illinois is breaking federal law by providing in-state tuition, scholarships and other benefits to people who entered the country illegally and in doing so is discriminating against American citizens, the U.S. Department of Justice said Tuesday.

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CoStar Hotel Reports Lack Data For Price-Fixing, Judge Says

By Nate Beck

CoStar and a group of hotel companies have won escape from a putative antitrust class action when a Washington federal judge drew a distinction between the use of hotel industry benchmarking data and algorithmic rental pricing software of the sort at issue in litigation against Yardi Systems Inc.

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DC Circ. Refuses To Block Fired FTC Dem's Reinstatement

By Hailey Konnath

A split D.C. Circuit panel Tuesday refused to stay a lower court's order reinstating a Democratic member of the Federal Trade Commission, finding that the government has "no likelihood of success" fighting her reinstatement because President Donald Trump broke the law when he fired her without cause.

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SEC, CFTC Say Firms Can List Certain Spot Crypto Products

By Aislinn Keely

Staff of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and U.S. Commodities Futures Trading Commission jointly told digital asset firms on Tuesday that registered exchanges under their purview can support trading of spot crypto products.

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FCC Pushes Forward On Next-Gen TV Transition

By Christopher Cole

The Federal Communications Commission issued new guidance Tuesday aimed at accelerating the transition to next-generation TV by making it easier for broadcasters to clear the regulatory process.

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EchoStar Challenges FCC's New Auction Rules In 10th Circ.

By Christopher Cole

Dish owner EchoStar has sued in the Tenth Circuit to overturn the Federal Communications Commission's recently passed rules to sell spectrum, claiming the plan will result in major penalties stemming from defaults on winning bids in an earlier auction.

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House Approves Bill To Trim Undersea Cable Gear Access

By Christopher Cole

The U.S. House of Representatives voted Tuesday to make it tougher for China and other foreign adversaries to obtain equipment needed to expand their undersea telecommunications networks.

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FTC Defends Merger Filing Overhaul From Chamber's Attack

By Matthew Perlman

The Federal Trade Commission told a Texas federal court that enforcers followed the law when overhauling the premerger reporting requirements and said the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other groups challenging the changes are just unhappy with the outcome.

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Ex-Crypto Platform Cred Execs Sentenced For $150M Scheme

By Sydney Price

The former CEO and former chief financial officer behind bankrupt cryptocurrency lender Cred Inc. will serve four years and three years, respectively, after previously pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

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DOJ Accuses Nonprofit Nursing Home Chain Of FCA Violations

By Hannah Albarazi

The U.S. Department of Justice has intervened in a whistleblower suit against nonprofit nursing home operator ProMedica, alleging a "systematic and pervasive" pattern of understaffing that resulted in "grossly substandard" or non-existent care for Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries, in violation of the False Claims Act.

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TMX Customers Get Final OK For $42M Data Breach Suit Deal

By Emilie Ruscoe

Customers of title loan and payday lender TMX Finance have gotten a final nod for their $42 million settlement of class action claims arising from a data breach affecting an estimated 4.8 million people, with class counsel receiving just under $6 million in fees and expenses.

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4th Circ. Won't Stop Dance Teachers From Using 'Inspire' TM

By Hayley Fowler

A charter school failed to convince the Fourth Circuit to block two former teachers from using the name "Inspire" for their dance company, with a panel finding Tuesday that the school's trademark infringement and false advertising claims didn't have enough juice.

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Overnight Oat Co. Exaggerates Protein Content, Suit Says

By Jonathan Capriel

The Chicago-based maker of Mush Overnight Oats, which was featured on "Shark Tank," was hit with a proposed class action in California federal court by a woman who claims it overstates the protein amount consumers will get from eating its products.

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Ga. School Wants ALJ's Ruling On Disabled Learning Tossed

By Chart Riggall

A metro Atlanta school district accused of denying full educational opportunities to a student with autism has asked a Georgia federal court to overturn a state administrative law judge's ruling ordering the district to reimburse the student's mother nearly $56,000 for private educational costs.

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CooperSurgical Says Earlier Cases Sink Conn. Filshie Clip Suits

By Aaron Keller

CooperSurgical Inc. on Tuesday asked a Connecticut state judge to issue a win in its favor against several groups of women who say their birth control clips detached and migrated inside their bodies, accusing the women of forum shopping after their claims failed in several other states.

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Defective Vascular Port Caused Man's Death, Suit Says

By Emily Field

The family of a Floridian who died after being implanted with an AngioDynamics Inc. vascular port hit the company with a suit in California federal court alleging that the device is defective and can cause multiple severe injuries including sepsis and death.

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Md. Says Liability Shield Doesn't Apply To Dali Ship Manager

By Linda Chiem

The state of Maryland, injured plaintiffs and other claimants have told a federal judge that the manager of the container ship that slammed into Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge last year cannot invoke a nearly two centuries old maritime law to limit its liability for the wreck.

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Harley-Davidson Riders Want Another Look At Warranty Case

By Matthew Perlman

Customers targeting Harley-Davidson's motorcycle warranties are asking the Seventh Circuit for a rehearing, arguing that an appeals panel misconstrued language in the warranties and was wrong to reject claims that the company competes in a market for American motorcycles.

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Ex-Sen. Cory Gardner Takes Reins Of Cable Biz Group NCTA

By Christopher Cole

Former Colorado Sen. Cory Gardner was named Tuesday as the new president and CEO of cable industry group NCTA – The Internet & Television Association.

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As Product Recalls Rise, So Do The Stakes For The Bar

Recent recall announcements affecting over 800,000 Ford vehicles highlight how product recalls have become more frequent, complex and safety-critical than ever, raising key practice questions for counsel, and raising the stakes in product liability litigation, says Ken Fulginiti at Fulginiti Law.

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Series

Adapting To Private Practice: From Texas AUSA To BigLaw

As I learned when I transitioned from an assistant U.S. attorney to a BigLaw partner, the move from government to private practice is not without its hurdles, but it offers immense potential for growth and the opportunity to use highly transferable skills developed in public service, says Jeffery Vaden at Bracewell.

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Military Lawyers To Work As Temporary Immigration Judges

By Madeline Lyskawa

The U.S. Department of Defense is working to identify military lawyers to serve as temporary immigration judges at the U.S. Department of Justice, according to an agency spokesperson.

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3rd Circ. Probes Jurisdiction In Dispute Over NJ US Atty

By Madison Arnold

The Third Circuit on Tuesday ordered defendants and the federal government to make a case for the appeals court's jurisdiction over a district court's ruling disqualifying acting U.S. Attorney Alina Habba from overseeing two cases, saying the court "ordinarily lacks jurisdiction" over pretrial orders in criminal cases.

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'Never My Intention' To Defy Justices, Judge In NIH Case Says

By Julie Manganis

A veteran Massachusetts jurist on Tuesday responded to suggestions by two U.S. Supreme Court justices that he had defied the high court by going ahead with a bench trial on two challenges to the Trump administration's cuts to National Institutes of Health research grants, saying he would never intentionally disregard precedent.

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Girardi Co-Attys Can't Revive Elder Abuse, Fiduciary Claims

By Craig Clough

A California state appeals court has found that claims of financial elder abuse and aiding and abetting a breach of fiduciary duty brought by two of Tom Girardi's co-counsel against his son-in-law were correctly dismissed, as was an aiding and abetting claim against a company run by Girardi's estranged wife.

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Witnesses Rebut Jail Confession In Fla. Law Prof Murder Trial

By David Minsky

Two private investigators testified in Florida state court on Tuesday about meeting with the cellmate of a woman accused of hiring hitmen to kill a law professor, but denied that the inmate ever revealed they were told confessions to any portion of the crime that occurred in 2014.

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Analysis

Wheeling & Appealing: The Latest Must-Know Appellate Action

By Jeff Overley

For appellate attorneys feeling sad summer's over, September's circuit calendars are here to help with argument topics — including the former Meghan Markle, an ex-Jones Day lawyer's religious liberty suit and $17 million in fees after "a vigorous litigation battle" between BigLaw firms — offering enough intrigue to vanquish any autumn ennui.

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Fed Gov. Cook Doubles Down On Removal TRO Bid

By Rae Ann Varona

Federal Reserve Board Gov. Lisa Cook on Tuesday doubled down in her bid to have a D.C. federal court block President Donald Trump's attempt to strip her of her position, saying the federal government was trying to expand the limits of a "for cause" removal.

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Lowenstein Sandler Fights To Keep Fee Battle With Firm Alive

By Jonathan Capriel

Lowenstein Sandler LLP urged a New Jersey state court to reject a bid seeking to trim its lawsuit against Trif & Modugno LLC in a legal battle over allegedly unpaid legal services rendered to a cannabis dispensary, saying its claims against the firm are over dishonest business practices and not legal malpractice.

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Analysis

Defamation Litigation Roundup: Patel's GF, Dershowitz, Nunes

By Theresa Schliep

In this month's review of defamation fights, Law360 reports on a new suit by the girlfriend of the current FBI director over a podcaster's claims that she was an Israeli intelligence agent, as well as the latest settlement between a voting machine company and a conservative news organization over 2020 election claims. 

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DC Circ. Says EPA Can Freeze Climate Grant Funds

By Madeline Lyskawa

A D.C. Circuit panel vacated an injunction on Tuesday ordering Citibank to relinquish grant funding frozen by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, finding green groups are not likely to succeed on the merits of their "essentially contractual" claims.

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Calif. Judge Rules Trump's Troop Deployment Was Unlawful

By Britain Eakin

A California federal judge ruled Tuesday that President Donald Trump's use of the National Guard to quell protests in Los Angeles over immigration raids was a violation of the Posse Comitatus Act, saying Congress "clearly" limited the military's role in domestic law enforcement.

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Ga. Superior Court Clerk Suspended After Indictment

By Kelcey Caulder

A Georgia superior court clerk has been suspended after her indictment on charges of destroying public records and violating her oath of office, according to an executive order signed by Gov. Brian Kemp.

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The Top In-House Hires Of August

By Sue Reisinger

Legal department hires in the last month included high-profile appointments at the Association of Corporate Counsel, GE Vernova, and a California legal legend joining an AI startup named Anthropic. Here, Law360 Pulse looks at some of the top in-house announcements from the past few weeks.

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