Goldstein Seeks New Trial, Citing 'A Series Of Legal Errors'

By Emily Sawicki

SCOTUSblog founder and appellate icon Thomas Goldstein has filed a lengthy motion for a new trial or acquittal after his conviction on a dozen criminal charges related to tax evasion, alleging his trial was marred by improper jury instructions, improper exclusion of evidence and inadequate evidence, among other things.

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Meta Owes $375M In NM Trial Over Harm To Teens

By Cara Salvatore

A New Mexico jury said Tuesday that Meta must pay $375 million over the state attorney general's bellwether claims that the social media giant hid the full scope of mental health harm its apps were causing to underage users.

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Justices Asked To Revisit 9th Circ.'s Walmart Copyright Ruling

By Ivan Moreno

A sculptural lamp designer has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review a split Ninth Circuit decision that overturned part of a copyright jury verdict against Walmart, arguing that the appellate court improperly reweighed trial evidence after the retailer failed to appeal the denial of its post-verdict motion for judgment as a matter of law.

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Nike Awarded $11M In TM Trial Against Influencer, Retailer

By Adam Lidgett

A Central District of California federal jury has found that a social media influencer and his streetwear brand should pay a total of $11 million for selling knockoff Nike products and infringing its trademarks.

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Ex-NRA Head Faces Sanctions Bid For Throwing Water At Atty

By Emily Johnson

The National Rifle Association asked a Florida federal judge to dismiss a suit from a former association president as a sanction because the former leader cursed at and threw water from her glass at the association's counsel when she was deposed this month.

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Publishers Say Anthropic's Use Of Lyrics Violates Copyrights

By Ivan Moreno

Music publishers have asked a California federal judge to rule that Anthropic infringed their copyrighted song lyrics through its Claude large language model, arguing in a motion for partial summary judgment that fair use does not excuse the AI developer's conduct because it used those lyrics to build a competing commercial product.

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Baltimore Takes XAI To Court Over Grok's Sexual Deepfakes

By Lauren Berg

Baltimore on Tuesday became one of the first municipalities to sue Elon Musk's xAI over the Grok artificial intelligence platform's ability to transform ordinary photographs into nonconsensual sexualized deepfake images, including creating child sexual abuse material, saying it's exposing city residents to degrading content, harassment and psychological harm.

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FKA Twigs Sues 'The Twigs' Indie Duo Over TM Suit Threats

By Dorothy Atkins

The Grammy Award-winning U.K. electronic artist known as FKA Twigs has sued the indie-rock duo Linda and Laura Good in New York federal court, seeking a declaration that her stage name doesn't rip off the pair's decades-old '90s band "The Twigs" after the sisters recently renewed their trademark infringement litigation threats.

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SiriusXM Beats Research Institute's Patent Case Due To Delay

By Elliot Weld

A Delaware federal judge on Tuesday said German research institute Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft's delay in bringing a patent suit against SiriusXM was fatal to its claims, after the Federal Circuit previously said the judge must look closer at whether that delay was relied upon by Sirius.

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Trump Admin Settles Suit Over Biden Social Media Collabs

By Lauren Berg

The Trump administration on Tuesday agreed to bar three federal agencies from interfering with social media companies' content moderation, resolving a high-profile challenge to the Biden administration's efforts to combat the spread of misinformation in a case that went up to the U.S. Supreme Court.

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AI Tools May 'Disrobe' Meta Of Section 230 Shield, Judge Says

By Dorothy Atkins

A California federal judge trimmed Tuesday a proposed class action alleging Meta Platforms Inc. knowingly participated in a Chinese pump-and-dump scheme advertised on social media, but found there's a factual dispute over whether Meta's AI tools materially contributed to the "facially ridiculous" ads.

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Snap Suit Tossed For State Enforcement Action Interference

By Mike Curley

A Utah federal judge on Tuesday dismissed Snap Inc.'s suit against two state officials aiming to block a state enforcement action, finding that the court must abstain while that enforcement action is pending.

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Meta Tackles Borrowed Underwear Analogy In Privacy Suit

By Bonnie Eslinger

A California federal judge mulling Meta's argument that its users' consent bars a proposed privacy class action pressed Meta's lawyers Tuesday on whether social expectations affect the bounds of that consent, observing that if she gave a friend permission to borrow her clothes, "I don't expect her to borrow my underwear."

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Fanatics Escapes Suit Over Trading Card Prices, For Now

By Matthew Perlman

A New York federal court tossed an antitrust case accusing Fanatics, the NFL, NBA and MLB of restraining competition for trading cards through exclusive licensing deals, after finding the consumers failed to show they purchased any cards at inflated prices.

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Fla. Judge Tosses Fired Reporter's Vaccine Suit Against PGA

By David Minsky

A Florida federal judge has ruled in favor of the PGA Tour in a lawsuit brought by a reporter who claimed she was fired for not complying with COVID-19 protocols, saying she couldn't claim a religious exemption. 

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Warren Probes MrBeast's 'Ill Prepared' Crypto Plan For Kids

By Craig Clough

Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Banking Committee, sent a letter to YouTube star MrBeast on Monday expressing skepticism about his potential plans to offer financial and cryptocurrency trading services to children, saying his company appears "ill prepared" for the move, while asking for information.

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Hefty Sentence Beamed To Victims Draws 2nd Circ. Scrutiny

By Pete Brush

The Second Circuit expressed concern Tuesday over a 20-year prison term imposed by a Manhattan federal judge on a Florida crypto fraudster, a punishment his lawyer argued was caused by unchecked victim vitriol expressed during a sentencing that was improperly broadcast.

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Game Developer Seeks To Toss Suit Over NFT Delay

By Sydney Price

Game development studio Neon Machine Inc. urged a New York federal court to dismiss a suit brought by an investment fund specializing in virtual "real estate" over the company's alleged failure to timely deliver an unregistered NFT associated with an unreleased game, arguing the delays in developing the game do not warrant a securities fraud suit.

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FCC OKs Station Moves To Gray Media In Three Markets

By Christopher Cole

The Federal Communications Commission has approved the transfer of three TV stations in Indiana and Mississippi to broadcast giant Gray Television despite objections from a variety of cable industry and consumer groups.

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Conservative Group Bucks Trump, FCC On Nexstar Deal

By Christopher Cole

A major conservative group has come out swinging against the Federal Communications Commission's decision to waive the national TV broadcast ownership cap to let the merger of media giants Nexstar and Tegna move forward.

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Brief

House Looks To Expand Satellite Broadband In Appalachia

By Christopher Cole

The U.S. House of Representatives agreed Tuesday to a bill aimed at growing the reach of high-speed internet service throughout the Appalachian region using satellite connectivity.

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Trainer Sues SafeSport, Alleging Due Process Violation

By Elaine Briseño

An equestrian trainer sued SafeSport after decades-old allegations of sexual misconduct led to his temporary suspension, arguing that the organization violated his due process rights by not allowing him an opportunity to defend himself before taking action.

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DOJ Says Gov't Attys Can't Be Punished Over ICE's Actions

By Ryan Boysen

The Trump administration says a Minnesota federal judge erred by holding a government attorney in contempt after U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement flouted a court order, claiming the lawyer was "wrongfully held captive to induce ICE's compliance."

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Judicial Conference Backs Latest Judge Newman Suspension

By Jack Karp

The federal judiciary on Tuesday upheld the latest extension of Federal Circuit Judge Pauline Newman's suspension and the decision not to transfer her case to another circuit, finding neither to be unconstitutional.

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Analysis

Fraud Task Force May Boost White Collar Defense Work

By Phillip Bantz

A new federal anti-fraud task force involving at least a dozen federal agencies could soon expose more state and local governments, contractors, companies and others to compliance risks, particularly in healthcare fraud and False Claims Act cases, experts say.

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Fla. Judge Faces Discipline For Remark About Shooting Attys

By David Minsky

A Florida state judge is facing a public reprimand after admitting to becoming frustrated with attorneys in an estate dispute and saying that he "would like to tell the deputy to pull his gun and shoot all three of you," according to records filed Tuesday in the state's high court.

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Senate Confirms Chief Of New DOJ Fraud Division

By Courtney Bublé

The U.S. Senate voted 52-47, along party lines, on Tuesday to confirm Colin McDonald to the newly created assistant attorney general for fraud role.

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Reed Smith's Silence On Depo 'Speaks Volumes,' Ex-Atty Says

By Jake Maher

A former Reed Smith LLP attorney suing the firm for underpaying her based on her gender criticized the firm for its "inexcusable delay and attempted meandering" in seeking to resume deposing her years after her last deposition date.

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Beasley Allen Says NJ Justices Review Of Talc DQ 'Essential'

By George Woolston

Beasley Allen urged the New Jersey Supreme Court to hear its appeal of a lower court's decision to disqualify it from representing plaintiffs in multicounty litigation over Johnson & Johnson's talc-based baby powder, arguing that the court's immediate review of the interlocutory order is "essential."

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