OpenAI Says ChatGPT Can't Be Blamed For Teen's Suicide

By Y. Peter Kang

OpenAI hit back at allegations that its ChatGPT artificial intelligence chatbot aided and abetted a California teen's suicide, saying the boy's misuse of the platform caused his actions, according to documents filed in San Francisco County Superior Court.

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Analysis

Calif. Privacy Agency Gaining Steam Ahead Of 5th Anniversary

By Allison Grande

California's data privacy regulator has taken several notable steps in recent months, including handing down its first penalty upward of $1 million and finalizing long-awaited rules on topics such as cybersecurity audits and technologies that use artificial intelligence, and the groundbreaking agency shows no signs of slowing down as its fifth anniversary approaches. 

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8th Circ. Finds No Grounds For Folgers Deceptive Label Class

By Emily Field

The Eighth Circuit struck down a lower court's order certifying a class of Folgers coffee drinkers allegedly deceived by serving size instructions, saying that many consumers either weren't fooled or simply liked weaker coffee.

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Kalshi Challenges Nev. Order Nixing Sports Contract Shield

By Aislinn Keely

Kalshi has asked the Ninth Circuit to weigh in on a Nevada federal judge's decision to vacate an earlier order shielding the trading platform's sports event contracts from the state's gaming regulators.

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NetChoice Fights Georgia Law On Parental Consent, Ads

By Kelcey Caulder

Internet trade group NetChoice is urging the Eleventh Circuit to continue blocking the enforcement of a Georgia law that would block social media platforms from allowing minors under 16 from creating accounts without parental permission.

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Honeywell Faces New Tariffs After Trade Court Reverses

By Dylan Moroses

Honeywell will face 7% duties on various imports after a trade court granted the government's motion for a rehearing and reversed a ruling that supported the company's tariff classifications, according to a recent U.S. Court of International Trade opinion.

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GTCR Drops FTC Constitutional Challenge Over Merger Case

By Matthew Perlman

GTCR BC Holdings LLC has agreed to dismiss its constitutional claims against the Federal Trade Commission after enforcers dropped their case challenging the private equity firm's $627 million purchase of medical device coatings company Surmodics Inc.

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NTIA Can't Block BEAD's Nondeployment Funds, Dems Say

By Christopher Cole

U.S. House Democrats say a Trump administration policy to withhold funds that states haven't used directly for broadband deployment projects runs afoul of the law creating a $42.5 billion plan to end the digital divide.

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FCC Aims To Compel All Providers To Act Against Robocalls

By Nadia Dreid

The Federal Communications Commission is launching another volley in the ongoing battle against robocalls, this time with an order that would mandate that all voice service providers, not just newly authorized ones, follow anti-robocall regulations.

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FCC Releases Details Of LPTV Reg Makeover

By Nadia Dreid

The Federal Communications Commission has unveiled the plans it will be voting on next month to shake up the regulatory regime for low power TV broadcasters, including setting up a formal method for the stations to specify their community of license.

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Brief

Justices Delay Copyright Chief Case Until FTC Firing Decision

By Ivan Moreno

The U.S. Supreme Court said it will defer ruling on whether the Trump administration's firing of the U.S. Copyright Office leader was legal until the justices resolve cases involving the terminations of a Democratic Federal Trade Commission member and Federal Reserve Gov. Lisa Cook.

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21 AGs Sue USDA Over SNAP Rollbacks For Permanent Residents

By Ben Adlin

Twenty states and the District of Columbia sued the U.S. Department of Agriculture on Wednesday over new agency guidance barring certain categories of permanent residents from receiving federal food assistance benefits.

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Apple Accused Of Cloaking Conflict Minerals From Customers

By Lauren Berg

Apple tricks consumers into believing that it responsibly sources the key minerals used in its phones, computers and other tech products, when in reality it sources cobalt and coltan from companies that commit human and labor rights abuses, International Rights Advocates alleges in a lawsuit filed in Washington, D.C.

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Ill. Judge Trims DraftKings Sports Betting Promos Suit

By Celeste Bott

An Illinois federal judge refused to dismiss outright a proposed class action claiming that DraftKings's advertisements fuel gambling addiction, but trimmed a few claims from the suit, finding several of the lead plaintiffs failed to specify when they saw the ads in question.

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USCellular Urges Justices To Uphold FCA Suit's Dismissal

By Christopher Cole

USCellular pressed the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday to uphold a D.C. Circuit decision tossing two whistleblowers' claims alleging spectrum auction fraud, calling their arguments for review of the lower court's decision "misleading."

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Investor Suit Over Failed TD Bank-First Horizon Deal Tossed

By Katryna Perera

A New Jersey federal judge dismissed an investor class action over TD Bank's failed $13.4 billion merger with First Horizon Corp., finding that First Horizon investors can't sue because they never held TD Bank shares and the deal didn't close.

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AGs Urge Congress To Reject Trump's Ban On State AI Laws

By Rachel Riley

Attorneys general from 32 states are urging Congress to preserve their ability to pass laws regulating artificial intelligence, contending that the Trump administration's renewed proposal to insert a moratorium into a federal spending bill would leave states powerless in the face of AI-powered scams, harmful chatbot hallucinations and other emerging dangers.

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Huggies' 'Hypoallergenic' Diapers Cause Rashes, Suit Says

By Rae Ann Varona

A "secret reformulation" of disposable Huggies children's diapers is causing severe skin reactions, a proposed class action filed in New York federal court has alleged, claiming that manufacturing giant Kimberly-Clark is still marketing the product as "hypoallergenic" despite pleas for a recall on the Huggies website.

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What CFPB Disparate Impact Proposal Means For Lenders

Should the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's reasoning for making proposed changes to the Equal Credit Opportunity Act — and the bureau itself — survive, lenders and other participants in the consumer finance industry may see a reduced emphasis on protected characteristics, say attorneys at Saul Ewing.

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Ending All-In Airfare Pricing Could Pose Ad Dilemma For Cos.

The U.S. Department of Transportation's plan to scrap its requirement that airfare ads include all fees and taxes in price listings means that airlines, travel agents and other affected businesses must balance competitive pricing against the risk of alienating consumers, say Kimberly Graber at Steptoe and Serena Viswanathan, formerly at the FTC's Division of Advertising Practices.

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Bonus Spotlight

Magic Circle Firms Enchant Associates With Top-Tier Bonuses

By Tracey Read

U.S. associates at Linklaters LLP and Clifford Chance LLP have a lot to be thankful for this holiday season, as the Magic Circle firms Wednesday became the latest to match the BigLaw standard for this year's associate bonuses.

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Analysis

After Big Win For 2 Trump Foes, A Third Faces 'Tougher Job'

By Phillip Bantz

The recent dismissal of federal criminal charges against New York Attorney General Letitia James and former FBI director James Comey does little to help President Donald Trump's ex-national security adviser John Bolton, whose defense in a classified-materials case presents a thornier set of legal and factual issues, experts say.

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Roundup

Up Next At High Court: ISP Liability & State Subpoena Suits

By Katie Buehler

The U.S. Supreme Court will return Monday for the first week of its December oral argument session, during which the justices will consider whether internet service providers can be held liable for contributing to their customers' infringing activity online and whether the subjects of state subpoenas are required to first challenge them in state court. 

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Interview

For Covington's Adrian Perry, Music Is A Family Affair

By Theresa Schliep

Despite having a famous rock star dad, Covington & Burling LLP partner Adrian J. Perry wasn't all that interested in being a musician as a young child, but he knew as early as 6 years old that he wanted to be a lawyer.

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Split 6th Circ. Shields Baker Donelson, Not City Councilman

By Matt Perez

In a published opinion, the Sixth Circuit has found that Baker Donelson Bearman Caldwell & Berkowitz PC is shielded by qualified immunity as outside counsel for the city of Nashville in litigation over the law firm's firing of a city election commission chair and member of the firm.

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Foley & Lardner Hit With Malpractice Suit Over Chancery Loss

By Rose Krebs

Foley & Lardner LLP has been sued in Delaware Superior Court by three officers of a now-defunct food recycling company who say the firm was negligent when representing them in a Chancery Court case that led to a $1.6 million judgment against them and another officer.

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DOJ Asks Court If It Can Release Epstein Files Under New Law

By Lauren Berg

The U.S. Department of Justice is seeking a New York federal court's permission to publicly release the files related to the investigation of late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, clarifying Wednesday that it wants to release search warrant results, travel and financial records, police reports, and other materials.

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Keesal Young Poaching Suit Against Stradley Ronon Trimmed

By Madison Arnold

A California state judge cleared Keesal Young & Logan to pursue most of its lawsuit alleging Stradley Ronon Stevens & Young crossed the line when it recruited 10 former Keesal Young attorneys, finding that claims such as inducing breach of contract could move forward, in part, because of conversations among the attorneys.

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DOJ Says Ex-Employees Can't Challenge Firings In Fed. Court

By Rose Krebs

The government says a D.C. federal court lacks jurisdiction to adjudicate a lawsuit filed by a former assistant U.S. attorney who prosecuted defendants charged in connection with the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol and two other ex-Department of Justice employees, alleging they were unlawfully fired.

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Hub Hires: Todd & Weld, Freshfields, Shipman

By Julie Manganis

It was a busy November in Boston's legal community as another firm expanded into the market, and a longtime judge traded his gavel for the ability to address his growing concerns about the Trump administration.

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