FCC Threats Loom Like 'Guillotine,' ABC Tells Court

By Christopher Cole

ABC argued during intense questioning from a D.C. federal judge Tuesday that a Federal Communications Commission probe of eight network-owned TV stations needs to end, because the agency's threats hang like a "guillotine" that could be cut loose at any time.

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DC Circ. Probes NewsGuard Over Harm From FTC Orders

By Matthew Perlman

A D.C. Circuit panel probed an attorney for NewsGuard on Tuesday about the kind of harm a Federal Trade Commission investigation and merger settlement in the advertising industry caused the news ratings group.

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Pitt's Atty Insinuates Sexism By Jolie's Atty In Winery Fight

By Craig Clough

A hearing over Brad Pitt's efforts to obtain financial documents from his ex-wife Angelina Jolie in a real estate battle over their winery turned personal Tuesday when Pitt's female counsel from Bird Marella suggested Jolie's male counsel from Murphy Rosen was being sexist, an intimation Jolie's attorney vehemently denied.

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Musician Gets 18 Mos. For $8M AI-Streaming 'Bot Farm' Scam

By Pete Brush

A Manhattan federal judge sentenced a North Carolina musician to 18 months in prison Tuesday, after he admitted scheming to steal $8 million worth of streaming royalty payments using an army of fake accounts and artificial intelligence-generated songs.

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Philly Pops Ticket Buyers Get Initial OK For $200K Deal

By P.J. D'Annunzio

A Pennsylvania federal judge has given the initial green light to a $200,000 settlement intended to resolve claims brought by a class of Philadelphia Orchestra patrons alleging the group failed to refund tickets for canceled Philly Pops performances.

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Apple AirTag Stalking Defect Suits Get Consolidated In Calif.

By Dorothy Atkins

The U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation has sent nearly three dozen lawsuits alleging Apple Inc. defectively designed AirTags that were susceptible to abuse by stalkers to California's Northern District in a ruling that compared the cases to coordinated multidistrict litigation against Uber Technologies Inc. over driver sexual assaults.

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Conn. Gallery Wants $804K Atty Fee For Beating Buyer's Suit

By Brian Steele

An art buyer who lost his Connecticut lawsuit alleging a gallery sold him a fake Keith Haring chalk drawing should cover the defendants' attorney fees to the tune of more than $804,000, the prevailing parties said in a pair of post-verdict court filings.

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Uranium Heist Didn't 'Damage' Crypto Exchange, Jury Hears

By Stewart Bishop

Counsel for a Maryland cybersecurity consultant on Tuesday told a Manhattan federal jury that a purported heist of well over $53 million from Uranium Finance didn't actually damage the decentralized crypto exchange, in closing arguments that took aim at the linchpin charge of computer fraud.

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Sprout Social Must Face Suit Over Troubled Acquisition

By Katryna Perera

An Illinois federal judge on Tuesday denied a bid from Sprout Social Inc. to dismiss a proposed investor class action alleging the social media management company missed its financial guidance and struggled to integrate an influencer marketing platform it acquired, finding the suit's challenged statements are actionable and that the claims suggest the defendants knowingly committed fraud. 

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DC Circ. Wary Of Hikvision Appeal Over FCC Device Denials

By Nadia Dreid

Chinese device-maker Hikvision hoped to convince the D.C. Circuit Tuesday that the Federal Communications Commission doesn't have the authority to strip a company's existing authorizations for national security reasons, but the judges did not seem persuaded.

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DC Circ. Tells FCC To Respond In Fox Philly License Case

By Christopher Cole

The D.C. Circuit on Tuesday ordered the Federal Communications Commission to respond to an advocacy group's petition for court action to compel full commission review of a staff order that tossed a challenge to Fox TV's Philadelphia broadcast license.

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Miss America CEO Says Carlton Fields' Fee Lien Lacks Detail

By Rose Krebs

Miss America CEO Robin Fleming is asking a Florida federal court to require Carlton Fields to provide more specific information about a charging lien the firm has asserted over unpaid legal fees in litigation over the ownership of the Miss America competition.

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FCC Covered List Is Pushing Limits Of Supply Chain Scrutiny

Companies outside the traditional telecommunications sector may now need to factor the Federal Communications Commission's equipment authorization requirements into supply chain compliance as the FCC covered list continues to expand as a national security tool, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

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AG Watch: Texas Takes A Lone State Stand Against Tech Cos.

A look at Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's recent actions against Meta Platforms and Amazon.com illustrates how Texas is distancing itself from multistate coordination, offering practitioners a crucial perspective on navigating individual state actions amid coordinated attorney general litigation, say attorneys at Kelley Drye.

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Ex-FBI Analyst Says Bove Ordered Illegal Protester Probe

By Courtney Bublé

A former FBI agent has come forward with a claim that when U.S. Circuit Judge Emil Bove was at the U.S. Department of Justice, he directed the Los Angeles field office to illegally investigate protesters.

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3rd Circ. Judge Faces Ethics Complaint For Managing PR Firm

By Adrian Cruz

A pair of U.S. senators from Delaware have filed an ethics complaint with the Third Circuit raising concerns over U.S. Circuit Judge Jennifer Mascott's purported operation of a public affairs agency, months after she was officially confirmed to the appellate court.

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Cornell Hires Ex-Deputy AG Yates To Lead Internal Review

By Christine DeRosa

Following widespread public outrage over how a former student's rape allegations were handled, Cornell University has hired former deputy U.S. attorney general and King & Spalding LLP partner Sally Yates to lead an internal review of its policies and procedures.

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Judge Newman Gets Suspension Fight Moved To 11th Circ.

By Dani Kass

Chief Justice John Roberts has transferred the Federal Circuit's investigation of suspended U.S. Circuit Judge Pauline Newman to the Eleventh Circuit, the latter court said Tuesday.

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Texas Justices Leery Of Banning AI Deposition Transcripts

By Spencer Brewer

Texas Supreme Court justices seemed hesitant to bar attorneys outright from using artificial intelligence voice transcription software during depositions, pointing out Tuesday that multiple safeguards exist to ensure accuracy.

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DOJ Says 12-Juror Rule Would Cause Unwarranted 'Upheaval'

By Brandon Lowrey

The U.S. Department of Justice on Tuesday urged the Supreme Court to uphold precedent allowing states to use juries of fewer than 12 people in serious criminal cases, saying overruling it could unsettle thousands of convictions and force many states to change their criminal procedure laws.

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Approach The Bench: Judge Panter On Mediating Vs. Judging

By Cara Bayles and Kelley Marcano

When attorneys come before retired Judge Michael Panter, a former circuit court judge in Cook County, Illinois, they sometimes forget that he is not there to decide their cases, but to resolve them.

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UVA Law Prof Takes On Role Of USPTO General Counsel

By Elliot Weld

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office said University of Virginia School of Law professor John F. Duffy has joined the agency as its general counsel and acting solicitor.

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