Kash Patel's Suit Over Pundit's 'Nightclubs' Quip Gets Axed

By Lauren Berg

A Houston federal judge has tossed Kash Patel's defamation suit against news analyst Frank Figliuzzi, who during an appearance on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" quipped that the FBI director is more often seen in nightclubs than in his office, saying Patel's claims include an "'unreasonably literal interpretation'" of Figliuzzi's remark.

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11th Circ. Mulls Whether High Court Ruling Backs Book Ban

By Kelcey Caulder

The Eleventh Circuit on Wednesday pressed Florida on its argument that a landmark 1988 U.S. Supreme Court case supported its defense of a state law barring books with sexual content from school libraries, with two judges hinting that the high court's decision might not be directly on point.

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6th Circ. Questions Timing Of Late Keyboardist's Royalties Bid

By Melanie Dorsey

A Sixth Circuit panel sharply questioned both sides Wednesday over when, if ever, Parliament-Funkadelic co-founder George Clinton clearly rejected a decades-old royalty deal with the band's former keyboardist, signaling uncertainty about whether the late musician's estate waited too long to sue.

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MrBeast Executive Fired For Taking Maternity Leave, Suit Says

By Patrick Hoff

YouTuber MrBeast's companies demoted an executive for complaining that women were being sidelined and harassed by male colleagues and then fired her for taking leave after giving birth, the former employee said Wednesday in North Carolina federal court.

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Alabama AG Secures $12.2M Roblox Kid Safety Deal

By Emily Field

The Alabama attorney general has announced a $12.2 million deal with popular gaming platform Roblox that would add age restrictions and more parental controls to protect children from online sexual predators.

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'Cheap' Judge Tentatively Trims Fees But OKs $65M Snap Deal

By Craig Clough

A California federal judge who previously described himself to the parties as "cheap" may have lived up to the descriptor Wednesday by tentatively granting final approval to Snap's $65 million securities settlement while indicating he'd likely give a 5% "haircut" to the investor plaintiffs' requested attorney fees.

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Judge Lets AI Copyright Claims Against Databricks Proceed

By Elliot Weld

A California federal judge has denied a bid from software and artificial intelligence firms Databricks and Mosaic ML to escape authors' allegations that their works were used to train large language models, saying the proposed class of writers had asserted a sufficient complaint.

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Norton Rose Faces $100M Suit Over Withdrawn Patent App

By Celeste Bott

Norton Rose Fulbright was sued in Illinois state court Tuesday by an advertising tech company claiming that the law firm mishandled a patent application and caused it to be deemed withdrawn, but kept the company in the dark about the loss of its valuable patent rights for over a year.

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Brief

Music Cos. Drop Verizon Copyright Suit After Cox Decision

By Ivan Moreno

Music companies that accused Verizon Communications Inc. of profiting from its customers' online piracy told a New York federal court on Wednesday that they were dropping their case, which had been paused while the U.S. Supreme Court considered similar claims against another internet service provider, Cox Communications.

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Analysis

House GOP Again Pushes Data Privacy Bill To Override States

By Allison Grande

House Republicans on Wednesday took their latest crack at establishing a cohesive nationwide data privacy framework, floating legislation that would give consumers more control over their personal information while preempting a growing patchwork of state laws, although early criticisms indicate that the issues that have long stymied these efforts persist.

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Samba TV Must Face Wiretap, Privacy Claims In Data Suit

By Jared Foretek

A California federal judge allowed invasion of privacy and Federal Wiretap Act claims against smart TV advertising company Samba TV to proceed to discovery Tuesday, ruling that a proposed class's allegations that the company collected viewing data to build viewer profiles that include their political leanings constituted actionable harm.

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Nintendo Customers Jump In On Tariff Refund Suits

By Jack McLoone

Video game giant Nintendo stands to make "windfall profits" through refunds of President Donald Trump's now-invalidated global tariff regime since those costs were actually passed on to consumers, a proposed class action in Washington federal court said, joining the chorus of customers looking to secure tariff-related refunds.

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Cumulus Defends Nielsen Data-Tying Order At 2nd Circ.

By Matthew Perlman

Radio giant Cumulus Media has told the Second Circuit that Nielsen helped contribute to the broadcaster's bankruptcy earlier this year by tying sales of its national radio ratings data to sales of its local offerings, calling the practice unlawful and saying it should be stopped.

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Nexstar Appeals Order Blocking $6.2B Tegna Merger

By Matthew Perlman

Nexstar Media Group Inc. has made good on its promise to appeal an order preventing it from fully merging with Tegna Inc., as the broadcasters fight a challenge of the $6.2 billion deal from state enforcers and satellite provider DirecTV.

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Defunct Soccer League Bids To Revive Antitrust Case

By Alex Lawson

The North American Soccer League pressed the Second Circuit for a new antitrust trial against Major League Soccer and soccer's U.S. governing body Wednesday, arguing that it was hamstrung by the trial court's jury instructions regarding a "relevant market" for professional soccer.

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Yelp Stiffed Calif. Workers On Boot-Up Time, Suit Says

By MJ Koo

Yelp failed to pay hourly workers for the minutes they spent waiting for their work computers to boot up before they could clock in for each shift, a former worker alleged in a proposed class action in California state court.

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FCC Asks If Shows With Trans People Need Higher Rating

By Nadia Dreid

The Federal Communications Commission is wondering whether it should update the TV rating system to warn people when a program may include transgender or nonbinary characters or themes related to gender identity, so parents could "make informed choices for their families."

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Retailers Ready To Fight FCC Over Call Center 'Onshoring'

By Christopher Cole

Large retail chains aren't happy with the Federal Communications Commission's plan to "onshore" customer service call centers, saying that even though it's geared toward communications companies, the proposal risks being foisted onto retailers as well.

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Cruise Ship Wi-Fi Plan Could Skew Ocean Data, NAS Says

By Christopher Cole

A plan to expand wireless device access on cruise ships might cause rough sailing for those who study the oceans from afar using the 6 gigahertz spectrum band, the National Academy of Sciences has warned.

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Brief

FCC Boosts Mobile Service From Space With AST Exemptions

By Christopher Cole

The Federal Communications Commission's staff approved some rule exemptions for AST & Science LLC to launch a 248-satellite constellation, which they said would encourage the growth of mobile services from space.

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Steptoe Adds Hogan Lovells Voting Rights Partner In DC

By Jack Rodgers

Steptoe LLP has hired a Hogan Lovells partner who helped Black Alabamians secure voting rights protections in a U.S. Supreme Court victory in 2023, and who joins the firm in Washington to work with white collar defense and compliance matters.

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How College Sports EO Raises Stakes, Casts Uncertainty

The effectiveness of President Donald Trump's recent executive order urging national action to "save" college sports depends on NCAA implementation and judicial tolerance, neither of which is certain, so college athletics will remain governed by an unstable balance between executive pressure and judicial authority until Congress acts, say attorneys at Manatt.

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Prediction Market Platform Probes Merit Strategic Responses

As the battle over the regulation of prediction markets is being waged between states and the federal government, investigations into insider trading allegations are increasingly originating from inside the exchanges themselves, creating obvious risks for market participants — as well as opportunities, say attorneys at Kobre & Kim.

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Series

Law School's Missed Lessons: How To Draft Pleadings

Most law school graduates step into their first jobs without ever having drafted a complaint, answer, motion or other type of pleading, but that gap can be closed by understanding the strategy embedded in every filing, writing with clarity and purpose, and seeking feedback at every step, says Eric Yakaitis at Haug Barron.

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Lockheed Birth Defect Trial Judge 'Disappointed' By Attys

By Cara Salvatore

A Florida federal judge said Tuesday he's "puzzled and disappointed" in counsel who appear "unprepared" on the eve of trial in a suit by children who blame their birth defects on Lockheed Martin's chemical handling practices at an Orlando defense system manufacturing and research facility.

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Hunter Biden Blasts Winston & Strawn Tactics In Fee Row

By Emily Sawicki

As a discovery dispute between Hunter Biden and Winston & Strawn LLP drags on amid a suit over allegedly unpaid legal bills, the former president's son accused the BigLaw firm, which once represented him in a Delaware criminal case and other matters, of resorting to "what is uncomfortably close to an ad hominem attack" against him.

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Analysis

Bondi's Proposed Rule Change May Shield Her In Ethics Case

By Phillip Bantz

A federal rule change that Pam Bondi proposed before she was fired as U.S. attorney general could stymie an ethics complaint against her in Florida, which is expected to be refiled after the state bar declined to take up the case during her tenure, experts say.

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Messner Reeves Accused Of $8.3M Trust Account Fraud

By Zach Dupont

Colorado law firm Messner Reeves LLP was hit with a lawsuit Tuesday in federal court from five businesses claiming it stole more than $8 million from them in a fraudulent loan scheme involving a now-defunct sports arena and hotel project in Las Vegas.

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Alston & Bird Says Goliath Investors Can't Claim Malpractice

By Carolina Bolado

Alston & Bird LLP urged a Florida federal court on Wednesday to toss a malpractice suit claiming the firm facilitated a $328 million cryptocurrency scam at Goliath Ventures Inc., arguing that the proposed class of Goliath investors who brought the suit were never clients of the firm.

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330+ Groups Urge DOJ To Restore Immigration Aid Staff

By Courtney Bublé

More than 300 legal services providers, faith-based institutions and community groups are calling on the U.S. Department of Justice to fully restore a program that allows nonlawyers to assist low-income and indigent persons in immigration proceedings.

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Acting DOJ Inspector General Tapped For Permanent Post

By Jack Karp

President Donald Trump has nominated the U.S. Department of Justice's acting inspector general, who investigated the FBI's probe into Trump's links with Russia, to remain in that role on a permanent basis, according to a White House announcement.

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Paint Co. Says Injury Firm Used Stolen Data To Solicit Clients

By Abigail Harrison

A paint company has asked a North Carolina federal court to boot the opposing counsel in a putative data breach class action, accusing them of finding stolen data on the dark web and using it to solicit potential plaintiffs before victims were even notified of the breach.

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