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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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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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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DraftKings Hacker Gets 30 Mos. After New Online Misconduct

By Pete Brush

A Manhattan federal judge handed down a 30-month prison sentence Thursday to a Tennessee e-commerce entrepreneur who admitted to scheming to hack accounts on the DraftKings sports betting site, citing his alleged criminal misconduct after pleading guilty.

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NYC Suit Alleges $1.3M Illegal Short-Term Rental Scheme

By Isaac Monterose

A New York City landlord and several of his relatives and associates made over $1.3 million from an illegal short-term rentals scheme that involved hosting an illegal number of guests, the city alleged Thursday in New York state court.

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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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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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2nd Circ. Says Animal Groups Can't Challenge Swine Rule

By Hailey Konnath

The Second Circuit on Thursday held that a trio of animal welfare groups don't have the standing to fight the U.S. Department of Agriculture's revised practices for inspecting pigs at slaughterhouses, ruling that none of the groups have shown they are likely to be harmed by the rule.

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Lemonade To Pay $10.5M In Driver's License Data Breach Suit

By Gina Kim

Lemonade will pay $10.5 million to settle with a proposed class of over 190,000 individuals who said the tech-forward insurer's online quote platform negligently disclosed their drivers' license numbers to cybercriminals, according to a preliminary approval motion filed Wednesday in New York federal court. 

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MoneyLion Hit With Wash. Class Action Over Referral Texts

By Ben Adlin

A program from fintech platform MoneyLion encouraging users to refer friends to the service has flooded Washington residents with unsolicited text messages in violation of the state's Commercial Electronic Mail Act, alleges a putative class action removed to Seattle federal court Wednesday.

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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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SEC Heads To Court To Collect $193K From Day Trader

By Emilie Ruscoe

A New York federal judge has ordered a former day trader to explain why he still owes the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission over $193,000 nearly four years after he agreed to settle the regulator's claims that he manipulated prices for certain securities in the final minutes of trading days.

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Fanatics, Sports Leagues Push For Exit In Trading Card Suit

By Tom Lotshaw

Fanatics Inc., the NBA, the NFL and MLB told a New York federal judge her dismissal of an antitrust suit brought by consumers who bought trading cards from Fanatics should also sink a class action lodged by indirect purchasers.

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International Paper To Pay $360M For Wash. Paper Mill Co.

By Al Barbarino

International Paper said Thursday that it has agreed to acquire North Pacific Paper Co., a paper manufacturer and portfolio company of One Rock Capital Partners, for $360 million. 

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Higher Ed Group Seeks Fees After Beating DOE Research Cap

By Julie Manganis

An organization of public and private research universities has asked a Massachusetts federal judge to award attorney fees and costs in a successful challenge to a U.S. Department of Energy limit on reimbursements for indirect costs of grant-funded research, the third such request since last fall.

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NY Appeals Court Orders Competency Check In Gun Case

By Elizabeth Daley

A man convicted of possessing an untraceable gun should have been reexamined for competency and potentially prevented from representing himself after repeatedly making nonsensical legal statements that sounded like what an attorney might say but did not relate at all to the case, a New York state appeals court found.

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Dallas Man Convicted Of Threatening Texas Federal Judges

By Hailey Konnath

A Texas federal jury on Wednesday convicted a Dallas man of threatening to kill several judges and also mailing a white powder — that ended up being a hoax — to federal courthouses in Fort Worth and Amarillo, according to an announcement from the U.S. Department of Justice.

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WTA Says Player Can't Rehash Failed Doping Defense

By Ganesh Setty

The Women's Tennis Association urged a New York federal court to confirm an American arbitrator's finding that British player Tara Moore couldn't relitigate her doping violation, noting that a Switzerland-based arbitration panel already rejected the claims she raised in American arbitration.

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Foley Hoag Adds Experienced Diplomat As Partner

By Daniel Moritz-Rabson

Foley Hoag LLP announced on Wednesday that it had hired the former U.S. ambassador to Hungary as a partner at its New York office.

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Opinion

BNP Paribas Case Could Upend Global Banking Norms

If upheld on appeal, a New York federal jury's multimillion-dollar verdict against BNP Paribas would create an unpredictable liability landscape for global financial institutions in which fully lawful services in foreign countries can give rise to civil liability in U.S. courts, in a manner contrary to federal law, say attorneys at White & Case.

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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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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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