Litigation Spending To Keep Growing As Biz Risks Run High

By Jack Karp

Companies are likely to increase their spending on litigation next year, some by over 10%, as legal disputes become more complex, more contentious and more high-stakes, according to a new report out Thursday.

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11th Circ. Judge Calls Ga. School Racism Defense 'Ridiculous'

By Chart Riggall

The Eleventh Circuit appeared unlikely Wednesday to let Georgia school officials escape accusations they violated a settlement requiring their district to hire more Black educators, with one judge slamming as "ridiculous" the notion they could plead ignorance over whether the agreement was binding on them.

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Judges Pan Chris Cuomo's Arbitrator Bias Claim On Appeal

By Frank G. Runyeon

A majority of the justices on a New York appellate court panel voiced skepticism of ex-CNN anchor Chris Cuomo's arguments that the arbitrator was biased against him in his $125 million wrongful termination case against the news network.

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NCAA Volunteer Coaches Secure $49M Wage-Fix Settlement

By Elaine Briseño

A California federal court approved a $49 million settlement between the National Collegiate Athletic Association and 1,000 Division I volunteer baseball coaches that resolves an antitrust dispute stemming from a now repealed bylaw that allegedly prevented the coaches from receiving market value wages.

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9th Circ. Seems Split On School Principal's Free Speech Suit

By Rachel Riley

A Ninth Circuit panel appeared split on Wednesday over a Washington state public school employee's claims that he was unfairly punished for a political rant on Facebook, with one judge pushing back on his stance that he was speaking privately while also balking at the district's position that the post was disruptive.

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Disney's $233M Deal In Living Wage Suit Gets Final OK

By Rae Ann Varona

A California state court has granted final approval of Walt Disney Co.'s $233 million settlement with more than 51,000 Disneyland workers who accused the entertainment company of flouting the city of Anaheim's minimum wage ordinance, handing the workers' lawyers $35 million in attorney fees.

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Coaches Ask For Lower Court Redo On 'Sham' NFL Arbitration

By David Steele

Arguing that a recent Second Circuit ruling supports their position that arbitration overseen by the NFL commissioner cannot be impartial, three former NFL coaches have asked the district court judge who sent part of their proposed racial discrimination class action to arbitration two years ago to again reconsider that decision.

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Defense Co. Says Worker Fired For Harassment, Not Religion

By Grace Elletson

Defense contractor L3Harris fired an engineer for his mistreatment of non-Christian colleagues, not because he is a Christian, the company told a Texas federal court as it urged the toss of the former employee's bias suit.

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Boston Mayor Accused Of Firing Staffer To Shield Ally

By Julie Manganis

The former chief of staff for Boston's police accountability office alleged in a lawsuit launched in state court Wednesday that Mayor Michelle Wu wrongfully fired her last spring to protect a key political ally from accusations of sexual harassment.

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Ex-Law Student's Bias Suit In Wrong Forum, 4th Circ. Told

By Patrick Hoff

A Black former student at Washington University School of Law shouldn't be able to revive claims that she was suspended from campus and lost her scholarship after complaining about a professor's race bias because she filed the suit in the wrong state, the law school told the Fourth Circuit.

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Kimberly-Clark Settles Black Worker's Bias, Retaliation Suit

By Patrick Hoff

Consumer goods company Kimberly-Clark has resolved a suit filed by a Black manufacturing employee who said she was denied a promotion and unfairly disciplined for complaining she was being paid less than colleagues, according to a filing in Alabama federal court.

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3rd Circ. Panel Puzzled By Economics Of NCAA Eligibility

By Matthew Santoni

The introduction of compensation for college athletes may have changed the economic effects of the NCAA's eligibility rules, but a Third Circuit panel wondered Wednesday whether enough analysis on the specific effects had been done to justify suspending one of those rules for a Rutgers University football player.

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Shipbuilders Ask Justices To Weigh 4th Circ. No-Poach Ruling

By Tom Lotshaw

Shipbuilders and designers accused of conspiring to suppress industry wages urged the U.S. Supreme Court to review a Fourth Circuit decision that revived a proposed class action against them, saying the allegedly untimely antitrust claims threaten ruinous damages.

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Brief

Florida Cemetery Operator Failed To Pay Wages, Suit Says

By Irene Spezzamonte

The operator of a cemetery and funeral homes compensated a former pre-planning adviser and customer service and sales representative on a commission basis, leading to about $81,000 of unpaid overtime, according to a complaint filed Wednesday in Florida federal court.

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Brief

4th Circ. Won't Revisit $9M Nurse Misclassification Ruling

By Irene Spezzamonte

The Fourth Circuit will not reconsider a panel decision keeping in place a $9 million judgment against a medical staffing company the U.S. Department of Labor accused of misclassifying more than 1,000 nurses as independent contractors, the appeals court said.

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H-2A Truck Drivers' Wage Suit Heads To Arbitration

By Irene Spezzamonte

Four seasonal truck drivers did not cross state lines when they transported agricultural products from fields to a cooling facility, and therefore their wage and hour suit belongs in arbitration, a California federal judge ruled.

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Brief

Union Settles FCA Suit Over Pandemic Loans for $2M

By Julie Manganis

The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 103 will pay just over $2 million in restitution and interest to settle allegations that it improperly obtained a Paycheck Protection Program loan for which it was not eligible, the U.S. Attorney's Office in Boston announced Wednesday.

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NCR Pushes For Full 11th Circ. Review In Pension Payout Spat

By Chart Riggall

Software company NCR Corp. asked the full Eleventh Circuit on Tuesday to examine a pension payout fight with former executives in the wake of a three-judge panel's ruling last month that the company can't issue lump-sum payments to plan participants as alternatives to promised life annuities.

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Ex-Applicant Sues Walmart, Alleging Consumer Report Misstep

By Emilie Ruscoe

Big box retailer Walmart faces a proposed class action alleging it violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act by running a background check, then rescinding a job offer to an applicant who'd disclosed her criminal record before starting the application process.

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Brief

Purdue Can Pay CEO Ch. 11 Bonus After Trimming Comp

By Ben Zigterman

A New York bankruptcy judge Wednesday approved a nearly $3 million incentive program for Purdue Pharma's chief executive after he agreed to reduce his total compensation by $500,000.

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J&J Whistleblowers Defend $1.6B False Claims Act Win

By Craig Clough

Whistleblowers filed a brief Wednesday in the Third Circuit in a closely watched False Claims Act appeal involving a $1.6 billion judgment against Johnson & Johnson unit Janssen as well as the constitutionality of the FCA's "qui tam" whistleblower provisions, arguing that the act's lawfulness has been settled by its "unbroken 162-year history."

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Ga. City, Ex-Court Admin Seek Quick Wins In Retaliation Case

By Emily Sawicki

A Georgia city and its former municipal court administrator have each asked a federal judge for wins in a whistleblower suit the administrator brought alleging she had been unlawfully fired in retaliation for reporting a city council member's attempt to pressure the court for a favor.

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Diverging FAA Preemption Rulings Underscore Role Of Venue

Two recent rulings evaluating Federal Arbitration Act preemption of state laws — one from the California Supreme Court, upholding the state law, and another from a New York federal court, upholding the arbitration agreement — demonstrate why venue should be a key consideration when seeking to enforce arbitration clauses, say attorneys at Hollingsworth.

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How Cos. Can Straddle US-UK Split On Work Misconduct, DEI

With U.K. regulators ordering employers to do more to prevent nonfinancial misconduct and discrimination, and President Donald Trump ordering the rollback of similar American protections, global organizations should prioritize establishing consistent workplace conduct frameworks to help balance their compliance obligations across the diverging jurisdictions, say lawyers at WilmerHale.

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Series

Adapting To Private Practice: From Va. AUSA To Mid-Law

Returning to the firm where I began my career after seven years as an assistant U.S. attorney in Virginia has been complex, nuanced and rewarding, and I’ve learned that the pursuit of justice remains the constant, even as the mindset and client change, says Kristin Johnson at Woods Rogers.

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Ex-Calif. Judge Gets 35 Years For Shooting Wife To Death

By Gina Kim

Former California state court judge Jeffrey M. Ferguson lost his bid for a new trial Wednesday and was sentenced to 35 years to life in prison for shooting his wife to death at home in a drunken rage, with the presiding judge expressing sympathy for his "extraordinary" son who tried to save his mother's life.

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Feds Want 3 Years For Girardi Son-In-Law's Chicago Contempt

By Lauraann Wood

Tom Girardi's son-in-law should receive a three-year prison sentence for his admitted role in helping the once-celebrated plaintiffs' lawyer steal millions from Lion Air crash victims, federal prosecutors in Chicago argued Wednesday.

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Winston & Strawn Blamed For 'Anti-Woke' Fintech $1.7B Crash

By Lauren Berg

The trustee of bankrupt "anti-woke" financial technology startup GloriFi on Wednesday launched malpractice litigation against Winston & Strawn LLP in Texas bankruptcy court, accusing the firm and one of its managing partners of putting the interests of the company's founder first and costing the business $1.7 billion in valuation.

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7th Circ. Pick Shrugs Off Conservative Group's Opposition

By Courtney Bublé

During her confirmation hearing on Wednesday, Rebecca Taibleson, a federal prosecutor in Wisconsin tapped for the Seventh Circuit, fended off opposition to her nomination from conservative groups, antipathy that the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee called a "new low" for the committee.

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House Votes To End DC Judicial Nominations Commission

By Courtney Bublé

The U.S. House of Representatives voted 218-211 along party lines on Wednesday to eliminate the commission that vets and picks potential judicial nominees for Washington, D.C.'s local courts.

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Retired Judges Speak Out On 'Threats' To Constitution

By Courtney Bublé

More than 40 retired federal judges appointed by presidents of both parties released an open letter Wednesday, the anniversary of the signing of the Constitution, saying they sought to underscore the importance of the rule of law at a time when the nation's ideals "are under historic strain."

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Del. Judge's US Atty Application Plan Draws Blanche's Ire

By Lauren Berg

Delaware's chief district judge, a Trump appointee, is seeking applications for the state's U.S. attorney position to prepare for an upcoming vacancy in the interim position, a move that drew the ire of Deputy U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche on Wednesday.

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Giuliani Must Pay Attys $1.4M After Missing Bills Claim Fails

By Adrian Cruz

A New York state judge has awarded nearly $1.4 million to Davidoff Hutcher & Citron LLP in its lawsuit accusing former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani of racking up unpaid legal bills for the firm's work in various criminal, civil and administrative matters.

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Criminal Restitution Fails Defendants, Victims, Report Says

By Brandon Lowrey

Federal criminal restitution often fails to benefit victims of crime and throws defendants into a "Sisyphean struggle" with debt, with $100 billion in outstanding restitution deemed uncollectable, according to a report released this week by the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.

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SEC Policy Shift Could Foreclose Some Investor Class Actions

By Jessica Corso

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission issued a policy statement Wednesday that allows the use of mandatory arbitration by new publicly traded companies as its chief seeks to "make IPOs great again," but Democrats warned the move could shut the door to shareholder class actions.

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Trump Could Swing Fed With This 1 Weird Trick: Ex-Fed Gov.

By Jon Hill

A former top Federal Reserve official told Democratic lawmakers on Wednesday that if President Donald Trump succeeds in quickly ousting Fed Gov. Lisa Cook, it could unlock an obscure mechanism for his allies at the Fed to sway future interest-rate decisions.

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