Nantucket Civil Rights Case Partially Revived On Appeal

By Julie Manganis

A Massachusetts intermediate-level appeals court ruled Tuesday that "hostile" responses by Nantucket's longtime town manager to a Black resident's comments about a hate crime investigation could reasonably be found by a jury to violate the resident's state civil rights.

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

Suno Says Indie Artists' AI Copyright Claim A Stretch

By Julie Manganis

Artifical intelligence music generator Suno on Monday asked a Massachusetts federal judge to trim a proposed class action on behalf of independent musicians, saying the plaintiffs fail to offer any support for their novel claim that the songs generated by the tool are copyright-infringing copies.

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

Tufts Student Says Feds Can't Dodge Detention Oversight

By Britain Eakin

Turkish student Rümeysa Öztürk, who the Trump administration arrested after she co-wrote a pro-Palestinian column in her university's newspaper, told the Second Circuit on Monday that the government's position that she can't challenge her detention via habeas proceedings is unconstitutional.

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

Analysis

Trump's 'Abnormal' Use Of FCA Could Get Tricky In Court

By Phillip Bantz

The Trump administration is wielding the False Claims Act in unusually narrow ways to drive policies on social and cultural issues — including gender-affirming care and diversity, equity and inclusion programs — but the government's potential theories of liability under the federal law remain largely untested and might not hold up in court, experts say.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

$150K Settlement Approved In Cohen Cleary Data Breach

By Matt Perez

A federal judge in Massachusetts filed an order last week granting final approval of a $150,000 settlement between law firm Cohen Cleary PC and a class of more than 12,000 former clients who sought relief after a 2022 cyberattack on the firm's computer systems.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

21 AGs Push DEA To Schedule 'Designer Xanax'

By Lauren Berg

Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman and 20 other state attorneys general are urgently asking the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration to schedule an unregulated substance known as "designer Xanax" under the Controlled Substances Act, saying it is contributing to overdose deaths and posing a growing threat to public health.

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

MoFo-Led Industrial REIT Receives $1B PE Takeover Offer

By Charlie Innis

Plymouth Industrial REIT Inc., advised by Morrison Foerster LLP, said Tuesday it is reviewing a roughly $1 billion takeover offer from Sixth Street Partners, a private equity firm that has invested in the real estate investment trust since at least last year.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

What 2 Profs Noticed As Transactional Law Students Used AI

After a semester using generative artificial intelligence tools with students in an entrepreneurship law clinic, we came away with numerous observations about the opportunities and challenges such tools present to new transactional lawyers, say professors at Cornell Law School.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

NY US Atty Hit With Complaint For Alleged Media Retaliation

By Madison Arnold

A collection of nonprofit organizations that support press freedoms has called for an ethics investigation of acting U.S. Attorney John A. Sarcone III of the Northern District of New York, saying he may have "unconstitutionally retaliated" against a newspaper that reported on him.

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

5th Circ. Says NLRB Structure Likely Unconstitutional

By Tim Ryan

The Fifth Circuit on Tuesday upheld injunctions barring the National Labor Relations Board from prosecuting unfair labor practice cases against SpaceX and two other companies, saying the removal protections that federal labor law gives board members and agency judges likely violate the U.S. Constitution.

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

Bad Citations Aren't Always Sanctionable, Wash. Atty Argues

By Emily Sawicki

An attorney in Washington state vowed on Tuesday to appeal harsh sanctions an Arizona federal judge meted out Thursday over fake and misleading citations she included in an opening brief, releasing a statement arguing that the court's order "treats the mere existence of AI-hallucinated citations as an automatic violation" but "that is not what Rule 11 requires."

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Ex-Copyright Chief Says Trump Overstepped Role In Firing Her

By Ivan Moreno

The fired leader of the U.S. Copyright Office urged the D.C. Circuit to reject the Trump administration's arguments that her dismissal was lawful, asking the appeals court on Tuesday to return her to her job before Congress returns from recess Sept. 2.

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

Family Alleging Firm's Girardi Conflict Denied Partial Win

By Craig Clough

A Los Angeles judge Tuesday denied a family's motion seeking judgment on declaratory relief claims in a $1.8 million malpractice lawsuit against a firm that represented it in recovering millions lost in Girardi Keese's embezzlement scandal, saying disputed facts remain in the "unusual" case.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Ex-Judge Gets Law License Back After Bribery Suspension

By James Boyle

A former Philadelphia Municipal Court judge can practice law in Pennsylvania again following a split state Supreme Court decision to reinstate his license that had been suspended after he admitted to accepting $90,000 to drop out of a congressional election.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Ex-Holland & Knight Atty Wants Another Depo From Ex-Wife

By Hailey Konnath

A former Holland & Knight LLP partner battling Pennsylvania personal injury firm Fritz & Bianculli LLC in litigation stemming from an affair and his messy divorce has pushed for his ex-wife to sit for another deposition, arguing that she wrongly refused to answer relevant questions when she was first deposed.

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

DOJ Asks Full 4th Circ. To Rehear Judges' Speech Dispute

By Britain Eakin

The U.S. Department of Justice petitioned the full Fourth Circuit to rehear a June panel decision reviving a free speech suit from an immigration judges union, saying it flouts U.S. Supreme Court precedent and implements a novel legal requirement.

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

FCC Democrat Poised To Sue If Trump Seeks Her Removal

By Christopher Cole

The Federal Communications Commission's lone Democratic member said this week it would be unlawful for President Donald Trump to attempt to remove her from office and that she's willing to go to court if he tries.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »