AI Musician Cops To $8M Streaming Revenue-Inflation Scam

By Pete Brush

A North Carolina man told a Manhattan federal judge on Thursday that he conspired to inflate music streaming payments using an army of fake accounts and artificial intelligence-generated songs, copping to a count of conspiracy and agreeing to forfeit $8 million.

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NC Justices Shouldn't Ax Severance Fight, Ex-CEO Says

By P.J. D'Annunzio

North Carolina's long-arm statute means its business court had jurisdiction to decide a lawsuit filed by the former CEO of a cybersecurity and IT firm over its alleged failure to buy out his equity interest as part of a severance agreement, he has argued to the state's high court in opposition to the company's appeal of a ruling keeping the case in the Tar Heel State.

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Del. Suit Targets NC Enviro Co. Charter Shielding Directors

By Jarek Rutz

A stockholder of a North Carolina-based environmental technology business has brought a class action in the Delaware Chancery Court seeking to invalidate a provision in the company's corporate charter that he contends unlawfully shields directors and officers from liability for certain misconduct.

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Insurance Execs Ask 11th Circ. To Review Coverage Suit Toss

By Kelcey Caulder

Insurance executives accused of sabotaging their former company as they prepared to start a rival firm will ask the Eleventh Circuit to review a lower court ruling that Berkley Assurance Co. did not have to pay for their defense in now-dismissed litigation filed by their ex-employer.

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4th Circ. Probes Basis For Chemours River Pollution Order

By Hayley Fowler

The Chemours Co. FC LLC found favor Thursday with at least one Fourth Circuit judge who appeared skeptical of why a lower court decided to render an injunction that blocks the company from continuing to discharge forever chemicals into the Ohio River.

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4th Circ. Leery Of W.Va. Opioid Towns' Abatement Arguments

By Abigail Harrison

During a heated hourlong oral argument Thursday, two Fourth Circuit judges interrogated an attorney for West Virginia municipalities stricken by the opioid crisis about whether the public nuisance of overly available drugs had already been abated, leaving only redress of resulting harms.

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4th Circ. Backs T-Mobile In Signal Interference Suit

By Nadia Dreid

The Federal Communications Act dooms every bit of an internet and phone service provider's suit accusing T-Mobile of interfering with and slowing down its signals, the Fourth Circuit said Thursday, declining to revive the litigation.

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Nomination For New DOJ Fraud Chief Heads To Senate Floor

By Courtney Bublé

The nomination of Colin McDonald for the new position of assistant attorney general for fraud was sent to the full Senate on Thursday, after the Judiciary Committee voted 12-10 along party lines to advance his nomination.

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States Sue To Block $6.2B Tegna Acquisition Despite Feds' OK

By Matthew Perlman

A coalition of state enforcers on Thursday sued to block Nexstar Media Group Inc.'s planned $6.2 billion purchase of rival broadcast company Tegna Inc., alleging the move would create a "broadcast behemoth" with the ability to raise television prices for consumers and control content.

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Live Nation CEO Says He Can't Recall 'Market Power' Remark

By Pete Brush

Live Nation's longtime CEO sparred Thursday with states that say the $36 billion entertainment giant engages in monopolization, telling a Manhattan federal jury the business is a "better mousetrap" than rivals and saying he couldn't recall telling investors the company has "incredible market power."  

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States Join Push To Revive EPA Climate Danger Finding

By Julie Manganis

A coalition of state and local governments on Thursday became the latest group to ask that the D.C. Circuit overrule the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's rescission last month of its long-held position on the danger greenhouse gases pose to public health.

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Duke Energy Settlement Raises Key Antitrust Questions

The recent federal court settlement in Duke Energy v. NTE Carolinas II comes in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court's failure to address a Fourth Circuit decision in the matter, calling into question the core purpose and effect of antitrust laws, say attorneys at Clifford Chance.

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Series

Coaching Soccer Makes Me A Better Lawyer

Coaching youth soccer for my 7-year-old son's team has sharpened how I communicate with clients, prepare witnesses, work within teams and think about leadership, making me a more thoughtful and effective lawyer in many ways, says Joshua Holt at Smith Currie.

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HSF Kramer Hires Axinn Antitrust Lawyer In DC

By Jack Rodgers

Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer LLP has hired a former Axinn Veltrop & Harkrider LLP partner, who represented Google in an antitrust investigation into its advertising technology, and who has represented other global companies in competition and related matters.

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Roundup

UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London

By Laura Stewart Liberty

The past week in London has seen an ex-professional footballer revive a dispute with Charles Russell Speechlys, Virgin Media face a group data protection claim after hundreds of thousands of customers' personal details were exposed online for months, and Mishcon de Reya sued by a real estate private equity firm founded by a former Morgan Stanley executive.

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Roundup

GC Cheat Sheet: The Hottest Corporate News Of The Week

By Michele Gorman

Major shareholder groups sued the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, claiming the agency violated the Administrative Procedure Act. In the meantime, some attorneys think the sanctions that judges are issuing to lawyers over AI-generated errors won't be enough to stop the problem. These are some of the stories in corporate legal news you may have missed in the past week.

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DOJ Rebuked Over Lack Of Candor For 'Imperious Client'

By Jack Karp

A Florida federal judge has rebuked government attorneys for failing to be up-front about legal authority that contradicts their position in a habeas case, warning them not to let their "imperious client" get between them and their ethical obligations.

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Beasley Allen Can't Halt DQ Ruling In J&J Talc Litigation

By George Woolston

A New Jersey state appeals court has refused to pause its decision disqualifying the Beasley Allen Law Firm from representing plaintiffs in multicounty litigation over Johnson & Johnson's talc-based baby powder, according to a court order.

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Where Calif. State Courts Landed On Generative AI Use Rules

By Emily Sawicki

The majority of California's 58 superior courts — together making up the country's largest trial court system — have decided to greenlight the use of generative artificial intelligence in their work this year, a Law360 investigation found.

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Law360's Legal Lions Of The Week

By Kevin Penton

Baron & Budd PC, Walden Macht Haran & Williams LLP and Powers Pyles Sutter & Verville PC lead this week's edition of Law360 Legal Lions, after the Ninth Circuit revived a major hospital chain's False Claims Act suit accusing large pharmaceutical companies of massive overcharges in a prominent drug discount program.

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Top SEC Enforcer Signals Continuity After Ryan Departure

By Sarah Jarvis

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's acting enforcement chief said Friday that the agency will continue to "focus on quality over quantity" when it comes to the cases it brings, projecting continuity with his predecessor's approach after her abrupt departure from the agency earlier this week.

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Roundup

Balancing The Scales: $3M Jury Verdict, GEO Appeal Denial

By Orlando Lorenzo

A Philadelphia federal judge rejected bids to disturb a $3 million jury award and impose sanctions on plaintiff's counsel arising from proceedings he described as "near-daily Festivus celebrations, where everyone got to air their grievances 'for the sake of the record'" and a Detroit man saw his murder conviction vacated after 27 years due to the case's reliance on a coerced confession and a lack of physical evidence, among other access to justice stories you may have missed.

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Bondi Keeps Ousted Wisconsin US Atty With New Title

By Lauren Berg

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi swapped Brad D. Schimel's title from interim U.S. attorney to first assistant U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin in order to keep him in charge of the office after his tenure expired earlier this week.

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In Case You Missed It: Hottest Firms And Stories On Law360

For those who missed out, here's a look back at the law firms, stories and expert analyses that generated the most buzz on Law360 last week.

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