A dozen Democratic attorneys general on Monday sought to block Paramount Skydance's proposed $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, arguing in a California federal court challenge that the deal threatens competition for film distribution and basic cable.
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WEDNESDAY, JULY 15, 2026 Law360 iOS App Law360 Android App Follow Law360 on Facebook Follow Law360 on LinkedIn Follow Law360 on Twitter

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12 Democratic AGs Challenge Paramount-Warner Bros. Deal

By Bryan Koenig

A dozen Democratic attorneys general on Monday sought to block Paramount Skydance's proposed $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, arguing in a California federal court challenge that the deal threatens competition for film distribution and basic cable.

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Netflix Wins $3M Atty Fees Over 'Objectively Baseless' IP Suit

By Craig Clough

A California federal judge granted Netflix Inc. $3 million in attorney fees on Monday, ruling that the plaintiff in a patent suit and his attorney knew that his claims of ownership were "objectively baseless" and worked to conceal a Finnish court's determination that he did not own the patent.

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NY Times Says Gov't Can't Justify Concealing Boat Strike Videos

By Holly DeMuth

The New York Times told a New York federal judge that the U.S. Department of Defense's "vague and implausible" justification for withholding footage from several military strikes on boats in the Pacific and Caribbean is countered by its decision to release clips from the footage on social media.

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Prime Energy Must Search Logan Paul's Devices In Ad Suit

By Mike Curley

A Kentucky federal magistrate judge on Monday ordered Prime Hydration LLC to search the personal devices of part-owners Logan Paul and Olajide Olayinka Williams Olatunji, also known as KSI, as part of discovery in a false advertising suit based on their public and vocal links to the company.

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50 Cent Says Ex-Staffer's Retaliation Suit Has No Place In Ga.

By Patrick Hoff

Rapper 50 Cent urged a Georgia federal court to toss a former assistant's suit alleging she was fired and repeatedly harassed because she refused to falsely accuse his bodyguard of theft, arguing his Texas residency prevents the court from having jurisdiction over the case.

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Ye Wants New Trial Over 'Donda' Listening Party Infringement

By Cara Salvatore

The artist formerly known as Kanye West is asking a California federal judge for a new trial over infringement of an unlicensed sample, saying the composers of the sampled song were on board until after Ye played it at a 2021 listening party.

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INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

Toyota Should Be Freed From IP Suit, Judge Says

By Adam Lidgett

A Texas federal judge has recommended allowing Toyota to avoid allegations it infringed a half dozen vehicle infotainment patents, saying the automaker already has a license to the intellectual property.

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Sony Seeks Atty Fees After 'Bye Bye Bye' Suit Dropped

By Elliot Weld

Sony Music Holdings Inc. has asked an Atlanta federal judge to order the artist behind NSYNC's "Bye Bye Bye" choreography to pay its attorney fees after he dropped Sony from a copyright infringement suit, saying the case should have never been filed and was prolonged unnecessarily.

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PRIVACY & CONSUMER PROTECTION

NJ Delays Registry Aspect Of Newly Enacted Data Broker Law

By Allison Grande

New Jersey regulators won't immediately enforce a sweeping data broker law that took effect in June, announcing Friday covered businesses have to register and pay a potentially hefty registration fee until spring, and it would consider complaints about the law's lack of clarity in policing its sensitive data sales ban.

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Blue Shield Of Calif. Beats Enrollee Data Privacy Suit, For Now

By Rae Ann Varona

A California federal judge dismissed a proposed class action accusing Blue Shield of California of violating the federal Wiretap Act by installing Google and Meta tracking tools on its website, saying plaintiffs failed to allege that the health plan provider intercepted their highly sensitive health-related electronic communications.

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Gaming Co. Settles Usurious Loan Suit Against BHG Financial

By Abigail Harrison

A couple who sought financing from nationwide lender BHG Financial LLC to open an esports gaming café has settled a lawsuit alleging the loan agreement was usurious and contained "unconscionable terms," according to an order in North Carolina federal court.

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COMPETITION

2nd Circ. Upholds Cumulus' Data-Tying Order Against Nielsen

By Bryan Koenig

Nielsen cannot condition media company Cumulus' access to national radio ratings data on buying its local offerings, under a Second Circuit panel decision Monday upholding, and unpausing, a district court preliminary injunction, concluding that a 10-fold price increase for the standalone product likely amounted to anticompetitive coercion.

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Court Economist Says Epic-Google Deal Isn't Evidence-Based

By Nadia Dreid

U.S. District Judge James Donato has already told Epic and Google that he's "not going to keep" going back and forth with them about changes they want to an injunction he has to issue following Epic's antitrust trial win against Google, and now a court-appointed expert has informed him she has issues with the proposed changes as well.

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EMPLOYMENT

Frontier Will Pay $14M To End 401(k) Telecom Stocks Fight

By Kellie Mejdrich

Frontier Communications Corp. has agreed to fork over approximately $14 million to end a proposed class action claiming its employee 401(k) plan was improperly overinvested in Verizon Wireless and other telecommunications stocks, according to a filing in Connecticut federal court.

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Pittsburgh Venue Underpaid Tipped Staff, Server Says

By Benjamin Morse

A Pittsburgh restaurant and concert venue violated state wage law by underpaying tipped workers and withholding portions of their tips, a server alleged in a proposed class action in Pennsylvania state court.

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SECURITIES & WHITE COLLAR

Wahlberg-Backed Gym Co. Inks $10.5M Investor Settlement

By Jessica Corso

A fitness franchise associated with the actor Mark Wahlberg has agreed to pay $10.5 million to exit a class action accusing it of misleading investors about its growth potential ahead of its initial public offering, according to papers filed in a Texas federal court.

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TELECOMMUNICATIONS

FCC Ditches Lifeline Obligations In Hundreds Of Counties

By Aneeta Mathur-Ashton

The Federal Communications Commission has announced a list of counties across the country in which eligible telecommunications carriers will no longer be required to advertise and offer Lifeline-supported voice service.

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BANKRUPTCY

23andMe Bankruptcy Plan Bars Data Breach Suit In Calif.

By Vince Sullivan

A Missouri bankruptcy judge has told attorneys representing California the state can no longer press its data breach lawsuit against the reorganized 23andMe, finding the state court action is barred by the company's confirmed Chapter 11 plan.

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LEGAL INDUSTRY

Blanche Called Anti-Weaponization Fund 'Mistake,' Per Durbin

By Courtney Bublé

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said on Tuesday the anti-weaponization fund created as part of the president's settlement with the IRS was "a mistake," according to Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., after his meeting with Blanche.

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Justices Seek More Funds Over Increased Threats, Talk Ethics

By Courtney Bublé

U.S. Supreme Court Justices Amy Coney Barrett and Elena Kagan made rare Capitol Hill appearances Tuesday, discussing the court's budget request for fiscal 2027, the "shadow docket" and ethics issues.

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Quinn Emanuel, Spiro Ousted From CoStar Copyright Fight

By Elliot Weld

A California federal judge has disqualified Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP and its attorney Alex Spiro from representing a commercial real estate platform in a copyright infringement suit brought by CoStar, agreeing that the firm's representation of CoStar in a different case should result in its removal from this one.

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Bronx Defenders Union OKs Strike 1 Year After Last Walkout

By Andrea Keckley

The Bronx Defenders has become the third New York City-based legal aid organization to authorize a strike this month, which comes just one year after the group's most recent walkout.

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Brief

Trump Lawyer Matthew Schwartz Confirmed To 2nd Circ.

By Courtney Bublé

The Senate voted 50-45, along party lines, on Tuesday to confirm Matthew Schwartz, one of President Donald Trump's personal attorneys and a partner at Sullivan & Cromwell LLP, to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.

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Ky. Law Prof Wants Court To Block Judge For Dean Pick

By Hailey Konnath

A University of Kentucky law professor asked a federal court to block U.S. District Judge Gregory Van Tatenhove from becoming the next law school dean, claiming that the appointment has "stripped the faculty" of their credibility on the basis of peer review.

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Calif. Bar Settles With Administrators Of 'Disastrous' Bar Exam

By Andrea Keckley

The State Bar of California has reached a settlement with the administrators of its "disastrous" February 2025 bar exam, whose array of highly publicized technical glitches prevented hundreds of aspiring lawyers from completing the test.

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COMPANIES IN TODAY'S NEWS

23andMe Inc.

APC

AT&T Inc.

Akamai Technologies Inc.

American Bar Association

Apple Inc.

BHG Financial

Blue Shield of California

Brennan Center for Justice

Brooklyn Defender Services

CLS Bank International

Cable News Network Inc.

Center for Family Representation Inc.

City Winery LLC

CoStar Group Inc.

Congo Brands LLC

Cumulus Media Inc.

Epic Games Inc.

Frontier Communications Parent Inc.

Frost PLLC

Google LLC

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co.

Instagram Inc.

LinkedIn Corp.

MTV Networks Co.

Mercedes-Benz USA LLC

Meta Platforms Inc.

Netflix Inc.

Nielsen Holdings PLC

Optimum

Skydance Media LLC

Sony Music Entertainment Inc.

State Bar of California

Tegna Inc.

The Bronx Defenders

The Gap Inc.

The New York Times Co.

Toyota Motor Corp.

Verizon Communications Inc.

Warner Bros. Discovery Inc.

Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.

Westwood One, Inc.

YouTube Inc.

LAW FIRMS IN TODAY'S NEWS

Ashurst Perkins

Avantech Law

Bahe Cook

Bailey & Glasser

Baker & Hostetler

Baker Botts

Blank Rome

Carmody MacDonald

Cherry Johnson Siegmund James

Childers & Baxter

Cravath Swaine

Ellis & Winters

Elzer Law Firm

Esbrook PC

Evangelista Worley

FBT Gibbons

Faegre Drinker

Finnegan

Gibson Dunn

Gillam Smith

Girard Sharp

Greenberg Traurig

Hogan Lovells

Hueston Hennigan

Izard Kindall

Joseph & Norinsberg

Kapitan Gomaa

Labaton Keller

Latham & Watkins

Martorell Law

Mayer Brown

Milbank LLP

Miller Fair

Morgan & Morgan PA

Morgan Lewis

Mozley Finlayson

Munger Tolles

Paul Weiss

Potomac Law Group

Quinn Emanuel

Ramey LLP

Reichman Jorgensen

Russ August

Russell Rodriguez

Schubert Jonckheer

Sterlington PLLC

Strickland Debrow

Sullivan & Cromwell

Verrill Dana

GOVERNMENT AGENCIES IN TODAY'S NEWS

California Attorney General's Office

California Department of Justice

California Privacy Protection Agency

City and County of San Francisco, California

Federal Communications Commission

Internal Revenue Service

New York Attorney General's Office

U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York

U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Missouri

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit

U.S. Department of Defense

U.S. Department of Justice

U.S. District Court for the Central District of California

U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut

U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky

U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina

U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia

U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York

U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky

U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas

U.S. Senate

U.S. Supreme Court