'Poor Lawyering': Walmart Flub Haunts Class Attys At 9th Circ.

By Jeff Overley

Amid warnings of a chilling effect on plaintiffs counsel, a Ninth Circuit panel Friday scrutinized six-figure sanctions against attorneys whose false advertising suit targeting Walmart Inc. collapsed because of crucial fine print in an avocado oil receipt.

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

Atty Faces Sanctions Over Fake Quotes In Taco TM Fight

By Brian Steele

A Connecticut attorney could be sanctioned for including fake case quotes and misrepresentations of the law in court filings that seek dismissal of a trademark case against a taco restaurant, a federal judge said Friday in questioning whether the documents were sullied by artificial intelligence.

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

9th Circ. Says Kroger Shoppers 'Obtained No Relief' For Fees

By Bryan Koenig

A Ninth Circuit panel refused to revive a consumer lawsuit challenging Kroger's since-blocked purchase of Albertsons, agreeing with a district court that the deal's abandonment renders the suit moot and the consumers have no claim to attorney fees as victors in wins scored by government enforcers.

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

Pa. Strip Club Sued Over Good Samaritan's Shooting Death

By Matthew Santoni

A suburban Philadelphia strip club is being sued by the estate of a man who was fatally shot after attempting to intercede in a fight involving an allegedly overserved patron, according to a complaint filed in Pennsylvania state court.

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

Trade Court Revives Chinese Paper Plate Duty Probe

By Jack McLoone

The U.S. Department of Commerce must give a Chinese paper plate manufacturer a chance to rectify issues with information it submitted during a duty investigation, the U.S. Court of International Trade ruled, saying the department didn't properly notify the company of the deficiency.

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

Man Hit By Store Security Gate Awarded $4.4M By Fla. Jury

By Carolina Bolado

A Florida jury has awarded $4.4 million to a man who suffered serious neck injuries after being struck by a remote-controlled security gate shutter while leaving a convenience store.

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

Detroit Club Retaliation Trial Opens With Employee In Tears

By Melanie Dorsey

A former Detroit Club bartender wept as his attorney told a Michigan federal jury on Friday that the club's owner threatened his safety, sobriety and real estate career after he spoke out about what he believed was racist treatment of Black guests. 

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Insurer Loses Bid To Group Same-Day Shootings Under Limits

By Danielle Ferguson

A Georgia federal judge said an insurer owes coverage to a bar and grill owner in a second lawsuit over shootings on the same day, determining the two shootings were not a single "occurrence" under the policy because the insurer failed to show they were related.

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

Okla. Tribes' Hunting Rights Suits Can Fire Away, Judge Says

By Crystal Owens

An Oklahoma district judge said Oklahoma officials must face challenges that look to block the state's wildlife conservation director from requiring tribal citizens to obtain state-issued fishing and hunting licenses for use on reservation lands, saying the Indigenous nations presented "colorable claims" on their treaty rights and inherent authority.

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

Former Pot Co. Execs And Wrigley Heir Settle Stock Fraud Suit

By Mike Curley

A group of former executives for medical marijuana company Parallel and the heir to the Wrigley gum fortune have reached a settlement in principle to end claims that Wrigley lied about share prices to lure in executive talent.

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

NY Appeals Court OKs Officials' Inspections Of Hemp Stores

By Sam Reisman

A New York intermediate appellate court has reversed a lower court's decision to grant a preliminary injunction that blocked New York City and state authorities from conducting warrantless raids against hemp stores suspected of selling unlicensed cannabis.

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

Roundup

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

By Laura Stewart Liberty

The past week in London has seen the FCA bring a claim against a fund manager it accused of providing investment services despite having been banned, an Ardmore unit sue a contractor two days before the construction group's collapse, and shipping and cruise giant MSC hit back at an entertainment company following separate intellectual property litigation in the U.S. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

3 Things To Know About Trump's Pick To Lead SDNY

By Daniel Moritz-Rabson

President Donald Trump has announced that he plans to appoint Sullivan & Cromwell LLP partner James M. McDonald to lead the Southern District of New York. Here are three things to know about him.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Trump Personal Atty In Carroll Cases Confirmed To 8th Circ.

By Courtney Bublé

The Senate voted 48-43 on Monday evening to confirm Justin Smith, who represented the president in the defamation and sexual abuse cases brought by writer E. Jean Carroll, to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Hagens Berman Must Cover Fees After Misconduct Findings

By Adrian Cruz

Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP must cover the fees and costs of a special master who alleged the firm committed misconduct in product liability litigation over the morning sickness drug thalidomide, a Pennsylvania federal judge has said.

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

Analysis

Newman's Appeal Loss Shows Limits On Suspension Reviews

By Ryan Davis

The U.S. Supreme Court's rejection on Monday of Federal Circuit Judge Pauline Newman's appeal in the long-running dispute over her suspension made clear that the available routes to challenge such orders are narrow, and spurred critics to contemplate ways to revise the system.

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

Justices Turn Down Judge Newman's Suspension Case

By Ryan Davis

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday rejected Federal Circuit Judge Pauline Newman's effort to revive her lawsuit against her colleagues for suspending her, leaving intact a D.C. Circuit decision that her challenges to the order are not subject to judicial review.

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

Attys Want Up To $33M In Long-Running UBH Benefits Fight

By Kellie Mejdrich

Attorneys for employee benefit plan participants who sued to change how United Behavioral Health processed claims for mental health and substance use disorder treatment asked a California federal court for up to $33 million in fees and expenses for their work on the "groundbreaking" case.

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

Ex-SEC Atty Reprimanded Over Misstatements In Crypto Case

By Julie Manganis

A former U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission attorney has received a public reprimand for misleading a judge in a cryptocurrency fraud case that led to sanctions against the agency.

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

Barnes & Thornburg Profit-Share Admin Wants Legal Bills Paid

By James Boyle

A company that oversaw recordkeeping duties of Barnes & Thornburg LLP's profit-sharing plan says in a complaint in Pennsylvania state court it is owed legal fees over a previous suit filed by a former firm partner.

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

Carlton Fields Pushes To Be Involved In Miss America Hearing

By Madison Arnold

Carlton Fields pushed back Monday on a request from the CEO of Miss America and companies linked to the pageant to bar a firm attorney from a status conference in their litigation over Miss America's bankruptcy and filed a motion to intervene in the case.

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

FBI Misplaced Nadine Menendez's Jewelry, Judge Told

By Parker Quinlan

An attorney for Nadine Menendez on Monday told a Manhattan federal judge that the FBI is still unable to locate pieces of her jewelry seized as part of the investigation that led to Menendez and her husband, former U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey, being convicted of participating in a bribery scheme.

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

Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court

By Jarek Rutz

The Delaware Chancery Court this past week handled disputes involving shareholder voting rights, take-private transactions, merger disclosures, board control battles and investor litigation, while the Delaware Supreme Court heard arguments over the wind-down of an oil-and-gas investment fund.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »