Tesla Atty Misled Witness Days Before Bias Trial, Judge Hears

By Dorothy Atkins

The California Civil Rights Department asked a California judge for a protective order Monday on the first day of a bench trial over claims Tesla Inc. fostered racism at its Fremont factory, after a witness testified that an in-house Tesla attorney recently called him and misled him into believing he represented the agency.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

2nd Circ. Seems Hesitant To Kick PwC Bias Suit To Arbitration

By Vin Gurrieri

The Second Circuit appeared skeptical Monday of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP's push to compel arbitration of a former worker's suit alleging discriminatory harassment, with one judge saying the company is advocating for an "extraordinary understanding" of a 2022 law barring mandatory arbitration of sexual harassment claims.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Meta Trims But Can't End Cybersecurity Pro's Retaliation Suit

By Lauren Berg

The former head of cybersecurity at messaging platform WhatsApp can pursue some, but not all, of his whistleblower retaliation suit against Meta Platforms, a California federal judge has ruled, saying the complaint plausibly alleges protected activity regarding his reports that claim Meta violated U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission rules.

Order attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

2nd Circ. Gives Ex-LVMH Atty A New Shot At Retaliation Case

By Anne Cullen

The Second Circuit on Monday reinstated retaliation claims brought by a former LVMH attorney who alleged that the French luxury brand fired her for reporting sexual misconduct, concluding that her refusal to engage in settlement discussions could constitute legally protected activity.

Opinion attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Chartwell Settles Bias Suit From Atty Fired After Gaza Posts

By Adrian Cruz

Chartwell Law Offices LLP has agreed to settle claims brought by an attorney who alleged she was fired over social media posts about Gaza, according to a filing in Florida federal court.

Settlement attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Brief

Swedish Health's $86M Wage Deal Nets Attys $25.8M In Fees

By Ben Adlin

Swedish Health Services' $86 million settlement to end workers' class action suit over alleged wage and meal break violations will include a $25.8 million payout for the plaintiffs' attorneys, according to a Washington state judge's order giving final approval to the deal.

Order attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Emory University Beats Fired White Worker's Race Bias Suit

By Kelcey Caulder

Emory University was freed from a white former worker's claim that a Black vice provost fired him due to race, age and gender bias, with a federal judge finding that no reasonable jury could conclude from the evidence that the employee was terminated for those reasons.

Order attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Mentor's Remarks Not Enough To Propel Sex Harassment Suit

By Grace Elletson

A Michigan federal judge dismissed a sex harassment suit Monday from a former elevator company worker who alleged that a male mentor made inappropriate comments to her, saying the seven remarks she cited over a nearly two-year period weren't enough to support a hostile work environment suit.

Order attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Mich. Orthodontics Worker's Race Harassment Claims Survive

By Melanie Dorsey

A former employee of a Michigan orthodontics practice can take to trial her allegations that a co-worker created a hostile work environment by repeatedly using language mocking slavery, although a federal judge tossed her race discrimination and retaliation claim.

Opinion attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Brief

4th Circ. Won't Rethink Cutting $22M Wells Fargo Judgment

By Carla Baranauckas

The Fourth Circuit declined Monday to reconsider its decision cutting nearly $2.9 million from a former Wells Fargo employee's $22 million jury award and overturning portions of the verdict in his disability discrimination suit against the financial giant.

Order attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Drexel Prof's Class Format Change Was Retaliation, Jury Told

By P.J. D'Annunzio

Counsel for a Drexel University philosophy professor on Monday told a Philadelphia jury that the teacher faced retaliation for winning a previous equal pay lawsuit against the college in the form of having an upper level course she teaches switched from in-person to online instruction.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Pa. Airport Beats K-9 Officer's OT Suit Over Dog Care

By Benjamin Morse

A Pennsylvania airport authority snagged an early win Monday in a former K-9 police officer's lawsuit seeking overtime for caring for his bomb-detection dog, with a federal judge finding the care was not compensable work because the dog no longer provided services to the airport.

4 documents attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

2nd Circ. Skeptical Of Fired United Worker's Grievance Claim

By Tim Ryan

The Second Circuit gave a cool reception Monday to a former United Airlines employee's attempt to force arbitration of a grievance over his firing after a Teamsters local declined to pursue it, with judges suggesting it was the union's right to advance the claim as it saw appropriate.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

NCAA Fights Lower-Division Athletes' 5th-Year Eligibility Bid

By Elaine Briseño

The NCAA urged a Colorado federal court not to become the first to certify a class of lower-division college athletes seeking a fifth season of eligibility, arguing they have significantly different circumstances from those of Division I athletes lodging a similar challenge.

Response attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

NJ Court Backs Arbitration Award Against Concrete Co.

By Katherine Smith

A New Jersey federal court on Monday upheld an arbitration award ordering a concrete supplier to rehire an employee who was fired after he tested positive for marijuana, rejecting the company's claim that an arbitrator exceeded her authority when issuing the award.

Opinion attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Texas Firms Sued Over Alleged VA Benefits Fee Scheme

By Madeline Lyskawa

Two Texas firms accused of charging disabled veterans illegal fees in exchange for helping them obtain higher disability ratings and larger monthly disability payments removed to D.C. federal court a proposed class action filed by a veterans service organization.

Complaint attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

FedEx Seeks High Court Review Of 6th Circ. Pension Ruling

By Katherine Smith

FedEx has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review the Sixth Circuit's decision to revive two proposed class actions alleging Kellogg's and FedEx's outdated actuarial assumptions shortchanged joint-and-survivor benefits for retirees, claiming the circuit court's "erroneous" interpretation of federal benefits law warrants high court review.

2 documents attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Judge OKs Up To $3.2M In BioXcel Employee Ch. 11 Bonuses

By Clara Geoghegan

A Delaware bankruptcy judge approved employee retention and executive incentive payments that could total up to $3.2 million as AI-bolstered pharmaceutical group BioXcel works to sell its assets in Chapter 11.

2 documents attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

ADM Faces Class Action Over Purported Dark Web Data Leak

By Joyce Hanson

A former Archer-Daniels-Midland Co. employee filed a proposed class action in Illinois federal court claiming the agricultural giant failed to protect workers' personal information during a ransomware attack this month that has been attributed to a cybercrime group.

Complaint attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Brief

By Ivan Moreno

A D.C. federal judge has paused U.S. Copyright Office leader Shira Perlmutter's challenge to the Trump administration's attempt to fire her, saying pending legislation that would give the president authority to appoint the office's leader could have an "obvious effect" on the dispute.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Morgan Lewis Adds Amazon Senior Counsel In Chicago

By Christine DeRosa

Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP has grown its labor and employment offerings with the addition of a senior corporate counsel at Amazon, the firm said Monday.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Risk Considerations As EEOC Moves To Ax Data Reports

While the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's recent proposal to rescind requirements for workforce demographic reporting wouldn't bar employers from collecting data, companies would have to be especially careful to gather and use such information in legally defensible ways, say attorneys at Foley & Lardner.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Legal Deserts: Millions Across America Struggle To Access Lawyers

Tens of millions of Americans live in towns and counties across the nation with limited or no access to legal services. By one estimate, at least a third of the nation's counties qualify as a "legal desert," having only one or no attorney per 1,000 residents. Roughly 24 million Americans reside in these counties.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Greenberg Traurig Hit With Action Over Client Data Breach

By Matt Perez

A proposed class of Greenberg Traurig LLP clients said the New York law firm failed to secure their personal data prior to a preventable data breach and delayed notifying clients of the breach for two weeks, in an action filed over the weekend in New York federal court seeking injunctive and other equitable relief to protect client data.

Complaint attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

New Calif. Law Bars Legal Funders From Influencing Litigation

By Jack Karp

Corporate investors and litigation funders will be barred from influencing litigation strategy in California under a new bill signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom.

Bill attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Q&A

She Has A Point: Fenwick's Jessica Kaempf

By Theresa Schliep

Jessica Kaempf of Fenwick & West LLP is a pragmatic yet tenacious attorney whose representation of her clients has earned her plaudits from Kathi Vidal of Winston Taylor, who praised Kaempf as part of a Law360 series celebrating women litigators.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

$1.35M Class Deal Reached Over Botched Calif. Bar Exam

By Emily Johnson

Takers of the February 2025 California bar exam that was marred by technical failures have agreed to settle their proposed class action against the proctor for $1.35 million, while the company also agreed to complete quality checks before proctoring future bar examinations, according to a motion seeking preliminary approval in federal court.

Motion attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Ex-Prosecutor Escapes Jan. 6 Atty's Defamation Suit

By Jared Foretek

Former federal prosecutor Andrew Weissmann on Monday won judgment on the pleadings in a defamation case brought by attorney Stefan Passantino, who had represented Cassidy Hutchinson, after Passantino alleged Weissmann had defamed him when saying he'd "coached" Hutchinson "to lie" to the January 6th Select Committee.

Memorandum attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court

By Jarek Rutz

The Delaware Chancery Court this past week dismissed a challenge to Alteryx Inc.'s $4.4 billion take-private sale, resolved a fight over the removal of a security technology company's director and declined to let Empery Digital Inc. immediately appeal a proxy contest ruling.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »