Meta Hid 'Alarming Reality' Of AI Glasses' Privacy, Suit Says

By Lauren Berg

Meta Platforms touts its artificial intelligence "smart" glasses as designed to protect users' privacy, but the tech company surreptitiously routes video captured by the wearable devices to contractors who view the footage to train Meta's AI models, according to a new proposed class action filed in California federal court.

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Meta's Child Sex Abuse Shield Is Top Tier, Safety Expert Says

By Cara Salvatore

Meta began its defense case-in-chief Thursday in New Mexico's bellwether social media mental health trial, calling to the stand a safety specialist who said Meta's detection program for child sexual abuse material is best in class but conceded that it's impossible to know how much material slips through.

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EU Approves KKR, PAG's $3B Sapporo Property Biz Buy

By Isaac Monterose

The European Commission on Thursday approved global investment firm KKR & Co. Inc. and private asset manager PAG's $3 billion acquisition of Sapporo Holdings Ltd.'s real estate business.

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'Addiction' Became A 'Dirty Word' At Instagram, Jury Hears

By Craig Clough

A former executive and consultant for Meta testified Thursday in bellwether litigation over claims that its subsidiary Instagram is harmful to children, telling a Los Angeles jury that between his two stints with the company, he saw "addiction" go from an openly researched topic to a taboo "dirty word."

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Signal 'Never' Regular Biz Practice, Amazon Tells FTC Judge

By Bryan Koenig

Amazon.com Inc. assailed the Federal Trade Commission for accusing the company of using auto-deleting Signal chats and improper privilege claims to hide evidence of rules that created an artificial pricing floor across online retail stores, telling a Washington federal judge that it never hid anything.

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Hyundai Faces $9.8M Sanction For Car Destruction

By Ganesh Setty

A Pennsylvania court has awarded two car dealerships nearly $9.8 million as a sanction against Hyundai Motor America after finding Hyundai "consciously" crushed cars they acquired before alleging, without evidence, that they intentionally damaged them to exploit Hyundai's vehicle repurchases.

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GM Sued Over 'Catastrophic' Failures That Can Cause Fires

By Jonathan Capriel

Newer-model Buick and Chevrolet vehicles equipped with a 1.2-liter turbocharged engine can suffer "catastrophic internal failures," causing loss of power and even fires, according to a proposed class action filed in Delaware federal court accusing General Motors LLC of concealing the problem.

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Apple AirTag Judge Compares Fight To Uber Sex Assault MDL

By Dorothy Atkins

A California federal judge indicated Thursday that he likely won't certify a class of stalking victims suing Apple for designing AirTags that were susceptible to abuse by stalkers, comparing the case to litigation against Uber Technologies Inc. over driver sexual assaults, which proceeded as coordinated multidistrict litigation rather than a class action.

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TRESemmé Hair Loss Suit Tossed By Judge

By Emily Field

A New Jersey federal judge on Wednesday tossed with prejudice a suit alleging that TRESemmé shampoo causes hair loss after the plaintiff's sole expert was barred from testifying as he admitted his opinion was wrong.

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Alaska AG Warns Retailers Against Selling Unapproved Vapes

By Mike Curley

The Alaska attorney general has sent warning letters to more than 1,500 retailers and distributors, warning them against selling tobacco products, such as e-cigarettes and oral nicotine pouches, that have not been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

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DC Circ. Urged To Pause DOT Immigrant Truck Driver Rule

By Linda Chiem

Local governments, legal advocates, Teamsters California and others have urged the D.C. Circuit to suspend the U.S. Department of Transportation's new final rule containing sweeping restrictions on nondomiciled commercial driver's licenses for immigrants, saying nearly 200,000 drivers would be culled from the workforce and trigger a supply chain and critical services crisis. 

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9th Circ. Denies Bail Pending Nurse Wage-Fixing Appeal

By Bryan Koenig

A Ninth Circuit panel summarily refused to allow a Las Vegas home nursing executive to avoid prison while appealing the U.S. Department of Justice's first-ever criminal wage-fixing conviction.

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Mich. AG Accuses Kalshi Of Unlicensed Gambling

By Katryna Perera

Michigan is the latest state to take action against prediction-market exchanges, accusing KalshiEX LLC of running an unlicensed online sports betting platform in a lawsuit removed to federal court on Thursday.

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Pennsylvania Man Gets 9¼ Years, $12M Fine For Fraud Scheme

By P.J. D'Annunzio

A former Philadelphia-area businessman who admitted bilking millions from investors, business partners, and employees by holding himself out as a successful entrepreneur has been sentenced to 9¼ years in prison and ordered to pay more than $12 million in restitution to his victims. 

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Baltimore Accuses Companies Of Offering Illegal Gambling

By Tom Lotshaw

Baltimore officials hit a half-dozen online casino operators with a consumer protection suit that accuses them of offering illegal gambling disguised as social entertainment, free games or sweepstakes.

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Wash. Lawyer Disbarred For Theft Of Client Funds, False Docs

By Ben Adlin

Washington's highest court Thursday disbarred attorney Stephen K. Monro, rejecting his argument that a Washington State Bar Association hearing officer applied the wrong standard of proof when considering evidence against him.

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CBD Stores Say Kansas Officials Wrongly Raided Stores

By Mike Curley

A pair of Kansas CBD product stores are suing state, county and local officials, alleging they conducted surprise raids and seized products and cash despite those products being legal under both state and federal law.

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Calif. Privacy Agency Dings Ford Over Opt-Out 'Friction'

By Allison Grande

Ford Motor Co. has agreed to pay a fine of just over $375,000 and provide consumers with "easy methods" to stop the sharing and sale of their personal data in order to resolve the California privacy regulator's claims that the company added "unnecessary friction" to this opt-out process, the agency said Thursday. 

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Grubhub's $24.8M Deal To End Driver Fight Nears Initial OK

By Dorothy Atkins

A California federal judge told counsel during a hearing Thursday that Grubhub Inc.'s revised $24.75 million settlement to resolve claims it misclassified drivers as independent contractors is "getting closer," but she held off on preliminarily approving the deal and told counsel they must "clean up" aspects of the class notice.

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Judge Says TitleMax's Forgery Claim Can't Halt Arbitrations

By Abigail Harrison

A North Carolina federal judge declined to grant several TitleMax subsidiaries a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction to stay over 100 arbitration proceedings after the car title loan company said a key document may have been forged, ruling Thursday that the request was tantamount to an expansion of the court's jurisdiction.

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Unwanted Home-Buying Texts May Violate TCPA, Judge Says

By Nadia Dreid

Texts from a real estate marketing company offering to buy a Georgia woman's home plausibly count as solicitations under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, according to a federal judge who is refusing to let the company out of a lawsuit accusing it of violating the law.

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Fanatics Sportsbook Fights Mich. Suit Over Betting Limits

By Elaine Briseño

Fanatics Sportsbook has asked a Michigan federal court to toss a pro se proposed class action that accused the platform of illegally increasing gambling limits, arguing that the pro se plaintiff, as a private citizen, cannot enforce the regulation.

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ApolloMD Reaches $4M Deal To End Data Breach Claims

By Chart Riggall

Medical staffing company ApolloMD has reached a $4 million-plus settlement to end a lawsuit alleging the company's cybersecurity protocols led to the release of 662,000 people's personal information during a data breach last year.

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Telehealth Co. Swaps In Gordon Rees In Novo's GLP-1 Fight

By Ben Adlin

A telehealth platform facing allegations from Novo Nordisk that it falsely advertised Ozempic alternatives has picked new counsel in the dispute, withdrawing attorneys from Foley & Lardner LLP and Miller Nash LLP and substituting in two lawyers from Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani LLP.

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Berkshire Unit Wants Out Of Broker Commission Fees Suit

By Isaac Monterose

A Berkshire Hathaway unit that owns real estate brokerage HomeServices of America Inc. urged a Missouri federal court to grant its quick win bid against an antitrust class action that accused the National Association of Realtors and brokerages of running an anticompetitive scheme that inflates buyer-broker commission fees.

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4th Circ. Allows Insurer To Seek Arbitration In Foam Case

By Caroline Simson

The Fourth Circuit on Wednesday overturned an order barring Illinois Union Insurance Co. from seeking to arbitrate in London a dispute within multidistrict litigation over alleged contamination from firefighting foam for failing to obtain consent from co-lead counsel.

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Fintech Sues Deutsche Bank, Pathward Over Pharma Flags

By Emilie Ruscoe

A self-described barter-based payment platform sued Deutsche Bank AG and Pathward NA, alleging it was improperly placed on an industry blacklist following the banks' assertions it was "transaction laundering" for companies selling gray-market peptides.

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Neb. AG Hits Roblox With Suit Over Kid Safety

By Emily Field

Nebraska on Wednesday became the latest state to hit popular gaming platform Roblox with a suit alleging that it fails to protect children against online predators, saying even new age verification policies are not enough to safeguard minors.

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Insurer Seeks Win In $6.3M Coverage Row With Pot Tester

By Mike Curley

James River Insurance Co. is asking a Mississippi federal court to grant it a win in its suit to deny coverage of a $6.3 million default judgment against a cannabis testing company, saying the company breached its policy by not cooperating with the insurer.

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Burlington Accused Of Illegally Taxing Exempt Baby Products

By Gina Kim

Burlington Coat Factory illegally charges shoppers a sales tax on items for babies and toddlers, including clothing, apparel and shoes, despite that it's been years since the Florida Legislature passed a tax exemption for those products, according to a proposed consumer protection class action filed Wednesday in Florida federal court. 

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Brief

Baseball America Subscribers Drop Data-Tracking Suit

By Alex Lawson

Subscribers to Baseball America Inc. have called off their proposed class action accusing the popular media service of illegally sharing their video-watching data with tech giants Meta and Google, according to North Carolina federal court filings.

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How CFTC Prediction Market Agenda Shifts The Playing Field

Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chairman Michael Selig recently signaled that a more welcoming regulatory landscape for prediction markets like Kalshi and Polymarket is coming soon, but we can expect a hotly contested regulatory and legal environment with important implications for the platforms, state regulators and market participants, say attorneys at Sidley.

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Unique Issues Facing Brand-Compounder Patent Litigation

Recent litigation and potential enforcement action against Hims & Hers Health raise questions about how compounders and branded pharmaceuticals companies would be positioned in patent litigation as compared to generics companies, which would require strategies different from those that would be used in traditional Hatch-Waxman Act litigation, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

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How Banks Can Apply FinCEN Beneficial Ownership Relief

A recent Financial Crimes Enforcement Unit order limiting the circumstances under which banks should identify and verify beneficial owners may allow banks to tailor their approach to verification compliance, but only after reviewing customer due diligence policies and evaluating alignment with their risk profiles, say attorneys at Cleary.

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Series

Volunteering With Scouts Makes Me A Better Lawyer

Serving as an assistant scoutmaster for my son’s troop reaffirmed several skills and principles crucial to lawyering — from the importance of disconnecting to the value of morality, says Michael Warren at McManis Faulkner.

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DOJ Forges Ahead With Law Firm EO Appeals At DC Circ.

By Lauren Berg

The U.S. Department of Justice on Friday moved ahead with filing appeals at the D.C. Circuit to defend executive orders issued by President Donald Trump targeting four law firms, just three days after the agency backtracked on its decision to drop the fight.

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Legal Jobs Up 19th Straight Month In 'Goldilocks' Economy

By Tracey Read

The legal sector continued its lengthy upward streak in February, with 2,600 more people employed in lawyer, paralegal and other law-related professional roles last month than in January, according to seasonally adjusted data released Friday by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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Ex-Girardi Keese Atty Pleads Guilty For Role In Client Scandal

By Dorothy Atkins

Former Girardi Keese attorney Keith Griffin pled guilty to criminal contempt in Illinois federal court on Thursday for his role in the firm's failure to pay millions ​in client settlement funds to relatives of victims killed in the crash of Lion Air Flight 610.

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Louisiana Atty Sanctioned Over AI Hallucinations In Filing

By Matt Perez

A Louisiana attorney was fined $1,000 Thursday for his use of artificial intelligence in drafting an error-riddled brief, while three co-counsel were spared penalty.

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Investors Accuse Alston & Bird Of Aiding $328M Crypto Fraud

By David Minsky

Several investors have brought a Florida federal proposed class action alleging legal malpractice against Alston & Bird LLP, accusing the law firm of drafting joint venture agreements that were used to aid a $328 million cryptocurrency scam. 

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Constantine Cannon Defends Handling Of Sutter $75M Fee

By Dorothy Atkins

Constantine Cannon LLP pushed back against Schneider Wallace Cottrell Kim LLP's allegations it unfairly reduced Schneider Wallace's share of a $75.4 million fee award in Sutter Health's $228.5 million antitrust deal, arguing in California federal court that the firm "sat on the sidelines" for most of the decadelong fight and isn't entitled to a bigger cut.

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NJ Talc Suit Will Proceed Amid Beasley Allen DQ Appeal

By Emily Sawicki

The New Jersey Supreme Court has declined to stay multicounty litigation over Johnson & Johnson's talc-based baby powder brought by hundreds of women who allege their ovarian cancer was linked to the product, while Beasley Allen appeals its removal as plaintiff's counsel over a firm partner's collaboration with the pharmaceutical giant's former outside counsel.

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Florida Bar Rescinds Claim Agency Is Investigating Halligan

By Jack Karp

The Florida Bar said Friday that it is not investigating controversial former interim U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia Lindsey Halligan, walking back a previous assertion it had made in a letter to a nonprofit that it was probing Halligan's actions.

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Courts Aren't Ignoring Justices' TPS Orders, Ex-Judges Say

By Ganesh Setty

Over 175 former federal and state judges have slammed the Trump administration's claim that lower courts "flouted" interim orders from the U.S. Supreme Court in litigation involving the administration's revocation of foreign nationals' temporary protected status, saying they weren't binding.

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Dems Again Push For Independent Immigration Courts

By Courtney Bublé

Democrats have again introduced a bill that would shift the immigration courts from the executive branch to an independent judiciary, following concerns that the Trump administration has "weaponized" the system.

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Roundup

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

By Laura Stewart Liberty

This past week in London has seen British American Tobacco sued by more than 100 investors, the government bring a claim against a COVID-19 supplier of personal protective equipment, Annington Funding sue its new corporate trustees on the Financial List, and Piers Morgan hit with a defamation claim from a pro-Israel barrister he interviewed on his YouTube channel. 

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GC Cheat Sheet: The Hottest Corporate News Of The Week

By Sue Reisinger

Anthropic, the developer of Claude AI, says it will take the Pentagon to court over being designated a national security risk because it wants to impose ethical guardrails on Claude's use. And the Mideast war is making in-house legal teams across the country work long hours to protect employees trapped by the violence and to keep businesses running despite broken supply chains. These are some of the stories in corporate legal news you may have missed in the past week.

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Law360's Legal Lions Of The Week

By Kevin Penton

Winston & Strawn LLP, Sullivan Papain Block McManus Coffinas & Cannavo PC, Stanford's Supreme Court Litigation Clinic and attorney Olivia Gabriel lead this week's edition of Law360 Legal Lions, after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that New Jersey cannot shield its public transit system from personal injury lawsuits by out-of-state plaintiffs under sovereign immunity.

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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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