2nd Circ. Weighs Fox News' Liability In Sex Assault Suit

By Anne Cullen

A Second Circuit panel on Thursday closely examined a former Fox News associate producer's claim that the network can be held liable for alleged sexual harassment and rape by a former show anchor, questioning if one novel legal theory being raised was forfeited at the trial level. 

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Analysis

AGs' Win Over Live Nation Leaves DOJ Watching From The Side

By Bryan Koenig

Live Nation Entertainment Inc.'s across-the-board trial rout by 34 state attorneys general underscores the ascendancy of state antitrust enforcers looking to fill perceived enforcement gaps left by the U.S. Department of Justice during President Donald Trump's second term.

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AI Music Generator Can't Duck DMCA Claim

By Elliot Weld

A Manhattan federal judge has denied a bid from artificial intelligence-powered music generator Udio to dismiss a claim for violations of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act brought by music companies that claim their music was used illegally to train the model.

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Video Game, DVD Buyers Seek Final OK In $1.57M VPPA Deal

By Gina Kim

Video game and DVD seller DirectToU and wholesaler Alliance Entertainment will pay nearly $1.6 million to settle allegations from a class of more than 9,000 customers that their purchasing information was shared with Facebook through a tracking pixel embedded in the companies' platforms, according to a final approval motion filed in California federal court.

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Ex-ByteDance Exec Fights Perjury Sanction At 9th Circ.

By Bonnie Eslinger

A former ByteDance executive urged the Ninth Circuit Thursday to revive a suit he filed against the TikTok owner after he was fired, saying the case should've been heard in state court and a federal judge had no jurisdiction to order terminating sanctions after finding he perjured himself.

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Nvidia Fights Uphill For Big Trim Of Authors' AI Copyright Suit

By Bonnie Eslinger

A California federal judge indicated Thursday that he won't grant Nvidia Corp.'s request to permanently toss the bulk of a proposed class action by authors who say the artificial intelligence giant unlawfully copied their copyrighted material to develop its LLMs, but will pare some claims with leave to amend.

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Universal Wants $7.25M 'Harry Potter' Ride Verdict Nixed

By Mike Curley

Universal City Studios LLC and a woman injured while exiting a "Harry Potter" themed ride are asking a California federal court to vacate the $7.25 million verdict in her favor as part of a confidential settlement to the case.

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Citizens Group Says 27 States Are Eyeing AI Chatbot Laws

By Joyce Hanson

Twenty-seven U.S. states are looking at passing laws to make artificial intelligence companies face liability claims in civil suits if they fail to protect consumers who interact with chatbots, while another three states have already enacted protections, according to a citizens group's new legislative tracker.

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Dems Call On Watchdog To Probe DOJ Antitrust Work

By Jake Maher

A group of Democratic federal lawmakers this week called on the U.S. Department of Justice's acting inspector general to investigate the possibility that lobbying has led to misconduct in the department's antitrust work, including the DOJ's recent surprise settlement with event ticketing giant Live Nation.

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OpenAI, Musk OK With Bifurcated Trial And Advisory Jury

By Lauren Berg

Elon Musk, OpenAI and Microsoft agreed Thursday to a California federal judge's proposal to bifurcate the trial's liability phase from the remedies phase in a case challenging the artificial intelligence company's conversion to a for-profit entity, and that the jury for the liability phase should serve on an advisory basis.

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Yelp Seeks To Bind Google To DOJ's Search Monopoly Win

By Craig Clough

Yelp urged a California federal judge Wednesday to preclude Google from arguing in defense of antitrust claims that it is not a monopolist in the general search services market, saying the issue was already determined in the U.S. Department of Justice's landmark antitrust win over the search engine company.

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Google Says EU Search Data Sharing Plan Raises Concerns

By Matthew Perlman

Google has pushed back after European enforcers outlined how they expect the company to share its search data to comply with its obligations as a gatekeeper in the search engine market, saying the measures raise privacy and other concerns.

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Seattle Art Museum Denied Breaks, Full Pay, Suit Says

By Benjamin Morse

The Seattle Art Museum failed to pay nonexempt employees for all hours worked and denied them legally required meal and rest breaks, according to a proposed class action filed Tuesday in Washington state court.

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Trump Depo Bid Can't Justify Trial Delay, Fla. Judge Rules

By David Minsky

A Florida state court judge on Thursday declined to pause a lawsuit over taking Trump Media & Technology Group public, saying the backers of President Donald Trump's Truth Social platform haven't shown good reason to delay a July trial start date while they appeal an order denying their bid to depose the president. 

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Ex-NBA Player Jones Expected To Plead Guilty In Betting Case

By Craig Clough

Former NBA player Damon Jones is expected to enter a guilty plea in the sports betting scandal where he allegedly peddled secret information to bettors about players, including former teammate LeBron James, according to a docket entry Thursday.

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FCC To Seek Carriers' Views On Connection Rule Revamp

By Christopher Cole

The Federal Communications Commission will soon ask key stakeholders, including local phone carriers, for their input on an agency plan to overhaul interconnection rules that govern how the nation's communications networks are linked, FCC Chair Brendan Carr said Thursday.

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FCC Urged To Keep 60 MHz In C-Band Airwaves For Satellites

By Christopher Cole

A public advocacy group has told the Federal Communications Commission it's a good idea to reserve at least 60 megahertz of spectrum in the upper C-band for satellite services as it ponders how big a chunk to auction for wireless.

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Sirius XM Listeners Seek Final OK Of $28M Telemarketing Deal

By Craig Clough

A class of Sirius XM subscribers asked an Illinois federal judge Wednesday to give final approval to a $28 million settlement resolving claims that the satellite radio company made repeated telemarketing calls to people listed on the National Do Not Call Registry or Sirius XM's own internal do-not-call list.

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Village Roadshow Ch. 11 Plan Greenlighted After WB Deal

By Hilary Russ

Village Roadshow, the film production company behind "The Matrix" and "Ocean's Eleven," won confirmation of its disclosure statement and liquidation plan Thursday after striking a deal with Warner Bros. Entertainment and clearing other objections to smooth its path toward the exits.

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Nixon Peabody Names Entertainment And Sports Team Heads

By Tracey Read

Nixon Peabody LLP has appointed two new leaders for its growing entertainment and sports practice, to which it also added a pair of Los Angeles-based associates.

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Series

Isshin-Ryu Karate Makes Me A Better Lawyer

My involvement in martial arts, specifically Isshin-ryu, which has principles rooted in the eight codes of karate, has been one of the most foundational in the development of my personality, and particularly my approach to challenges — including in my practice of law, says Kaitlyn Stone at Barnes & Thornburg.

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Meta, Uber Verdicts Top Product Liability Trials

By Emily Field

This year has brought major courtroom setbacks for tech platforms and app companies. Juries issued headline-making verdicts against Meta and Google over claims their platforms harm young users, while Uber lost its first federal bellwether trial over driver assaults and now faces a second sexual assault case.

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Analysis

Bondi's Contempt Defenses Are Strong, But Not Without Risk

By Phillip Bantz

Former U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi currently has some potentially powerful defenses against Congress' relatively limited abilities to force her to comply with a subpoena to be deposed under oath about the Epstein files, but her exposure to being held in criminal contempt could shift with the political winds, experts said.

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Calif. Lawyer Sues Over State Bar Investigations

By Andrea Keckley

A California trial lawyer claimed in a federal lawsuit filed Wednesday that he has been unfairly investigated by the state bar since 2019, alleging the office "illegally prioritizes revenue-generation over protection of the public."

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NJ US Atty's Office Turmoil Doesn't Nix Conviction, Judge Rules

By Carla Baranauckas

A federal judge on Thursday rejected a New Jersey criminal defendant's attempt to dismiss his conviction and disqualify the state's top federal prosecutor, holding that the appointment of the current U.S. attorney complies with federal law and that any earlier defects in leadership do not warrant dismissal.

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Judiciary Panel Loves Paralegal's Idea To Modernize Briefs

By Jeff Overley

An Arizona paralegal's unsolicited idea for overhauling a procedural rule governing the format of briefs found a surprisingly enthusiastic audience Thursday at a federal judiciary meeting, where prominent officials and attorneys voiced strong interest and agreed to explore the concept in earnest.

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Ramey Says Sanctions Violation Was 'Misunderstanding'

By Elliot Weld

William Ramey, an intellectual property attorney sanctioned in several federal jurisdictions, told a California federal judge Thursday that any violations of a previous sanctions order regarding his ability to practice law in the state were due to "good-faith misunderstanding of the scope of the court's order — not willful disregard."

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Judge Doubts Broad Shift In Immigration Hearing Access

By Jared Foretek

A D.C. federal judge appeared unconvinced Thursday by a human rights group's claim that the public is getting less access to immigration court hearings in Minnesota during the second Trump administration.

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Optimum Defends Antitrust Suit Against Apollo, BlackRock

By Alex Wittenberg

Apollo, Ares, BlackRock and other financial giants are colluding to block Optimum Communications Inc. from negotiating a debt refinancing to avert bankruptcy, acting as a "cartel" and locking Optimum out of credit markets, Optimum said in a brief opposing the investors' bid to dismiss its antitrust suit in New York.

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Sentencing Commission Votes To Enact Modest Reform Agenda

By Stewart Bishop

The U.S. Sentencing Commission on Thursday voted to enact multiple revisions to the federal sentencing guidelines, including the first inflationary adjustment in over a decade for calculating penalties for economic crimes, but declined to take action on a series of more transformational changes that were under consideration.

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