TikTok Inks $400M Deal With DOJ To End Kids' Privacy Suit

By Allison Grande

TikTok has agreed to pay $400 million to resolve the U.S. Department of Justice's claims that the short-form video platform illegally collected personal information from kids under 13, marking one of the largest recoveries ever obtained under the federal Children's Online Privacy Protection Act, the feds said Friday.

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

Analysis

FTC Faces Off Against Zillow-Redfin Rental Listings Deal

By Bryan Koenig

Federal Trade Commission attorneys will appear before a Virginia federal judge Monday in what will likely be the FTC's only antitrust conduct trial this year, squaring off against a rental listings syndication deal it says amounted to Zillow's $100 million payout for the smaller Redfin to exit the market.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Prince Harry, Celebs Ordered To Pay £9.5M To Daily Mail

By Ronan Barnard

A London judge ordered Prince Harry and other celebrities Friday to pay the publisher of the Daily Mail more than £9.5 million ($12.9 million) toward its costs in their unsuccessful privacy case, though the final figure could be much higher.

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

Texas Panel Cuts $45M Sandy Hook Ruling Against Alex Jones

By Vince Sullivan

A Texas state appellate court Friday slashed a $45 million damages award against right-wing conspiracy theorist Alex Jones in a defamation trial brought by parents of a Sandy Hook shooting victim, saying the family did not meet the legal standard to exceed the state's damages cap.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Split DC Circ. Nixes Damages Over Project Veritas Sting Video

By Rae Ann Varona

A split D.C. Circuit panel sided Friday with the founder and former CEO of conservative activist media group Project Veritas, reversing $130,000 in damages stemming from the group's sting operation on the liberal consulting firm Democracy Partners.

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

Amazon Uses Twitch Streamers' Content To Train AI, Suit Says

By Gina Kim

Twitch and Amazon were hit with a proposed class action in California federal court Thursday by a Twitch streamer who says the companies are exploiting and using his live broadcasts, images and recorded videos to train Amazon's generative AI models by default, without obtaining their consent.

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

Roundup

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

By Megan Norcott

The past week in London has seen former Liberal Democrat MP Mark Oaten sue a fur auction house, private equity and pensions magnate Edmund Truell hit by a commercial fraud claim and Charles Russell Speechlys file a contract claim against two of its previous clients in the Middle East.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Suno Loses Bid To Dismiss Artists' AI Copyright Claims

By Ivan Moreno

A Massachusetts federal judge has allowed independent recording artists to proceed with copyright claims that AI-music generator Suno Inc. created unauthorized derivative works and bypassed YouTube protections to obtain songs to train its platform.

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

Painter, Sotheby's Sued Over 'Slavish Copy' Of Oasis Photo

By Elliot Weld

A photographer who took what he described as an iconic image of the brothers who head the English rock band Oasis says a painter recreated the image in a work valued at up to $2 million and auctioned by art dealer Sotheby's, according to a copyright infringement suit in New York federal court.

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

Dish Says Media Co. Gaia Infringed Streaming Patents

By Rachel Konieczny

Colorado-based Dish Technologies LLC and Sling TV LLC claim streaming company Gaia Inc. infringed five of their patents for content streaming that employ technology meant to adapt to a user's available bandwidth, telling a Colorado federal court the company had actual knowledge of the patents.

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

Pa.'s Kennywood Amusement Park Hit With Hidden Fees Suit

By Matthew Santoni

The parent company for the Kennywood amusement park outside Pittsburgh allegedly charged hidden fees tacked onto ticket prices, according to a proposed class action filed in Pennsylvania state court.

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

Calif. High School NIL Limitations Survive Antitrust Challenge

By Elaine Briseño

A California federal judge has tossed a lawsuit by high school athletes challenging the state's limits on name, image and likeness opportunities, saying the plaintiffs have not adequately defined a relevant market or pled antitrust injury.

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

Meta Tells DC Circ. To Reject FTC Appeal

By Bryan Koenig

Meta Platforms Inc. urged the D.C. Circuit not to revive the Federal Trade Commission's monopolization lawsuit targeting its purchases of WhatsApp and Instagram, arguing Thursday that a D.C. federal judge correctly held that in the here and now, competition from TikTok and YouTube means it "has no monopoly."

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

GoDaddy Fired Designer After Sex Bias Complaint, Suit Says

By Rachel Riley

A former user experience designer for GoDaddy claims the web services company falsely promised her a "principal" title when hiring her, then punished and ultimately ousted her for complaining when two men with less experience were given the high-ranking status, according to a lawsuit filed Friday in Washington federal court.  

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

How FCC Covered List Blitz Is Sidelining Commerce Dept.

The swath of recent Federal Communications Commission rulemakings raises serious questions about the purpose and future of Commerce's Office of Information and Communications Technology and Services, and how the U.S. government will go forward in imposing national security regulation on domestic applications of adversary-linked technologies, says Peter Jeydel at Troutman.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

WWE Sanctions Ruling Pins Down Spoliation Lesson

The Delaware Chancery Court’s recent verdict in favor of WWE investors may be the most carefully calibrated spoliation sanctions decision in recent memory, and it should reshape how counsel approach their motions — including in federal court, says Ricky Weingarten at Slarskey.

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

AGs Want Meta's Privilege Claims Reviewed In Bellwether Trial

By Dorothy Atkins

During a break in a jury trial Monday over states' claims Meta hid social media's harm, states' counsel urged a California federal judge to require Meta to re-review all of its attorney-client privilege designations, arguing that "it seems actually logically impossible" that Meta described the wrong standard in only a single document.  

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Legal Center Says DOJ Is Stonewalling Fund Records Request

By Jared Foretek

A voting rights nonprofit is accusing the U.S. Department of Justice of stonewalling a request for records on the Trump administration's attempted "anti-weaponization fund," claiming that the agency has spent the summer unlawfully ducking a Freedom of Information Act submission.

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

Galindo Law Files For Ch. 11 After Camp Lejeune Fee Fight

By Ben Zigterman

A Houston-based personal injury law firm sought bankruptcy relief on Monday with more than $50 million in liabilities after a mass tort litigation marketing company sued for over $9 million in fees related to finding potential victims of water contamination at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune.

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

Attys Ask Court To Toss Suit Alleging They Stole 1,000 Cases

By Spencer Brewer

Multiple attorneys asked a Texas federal court to toss claims that they conspired to hijack 1,000 cases filed by hurricane survivors who had hired and built cases with a different firm, claiming the firm that brought the suit failed to plead a viable RICO claim.

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

Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court

By Jarek Rutz

The Delaware Chancery Court last week saw a wave of lawsuits involving corporate oversight, take-private deals, financing transactions, bankruptcy fallout, stockholder voting rights and disputes over control.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »