RJ Reynolds Fights Altria's Trial Subpoena Of In-House Atty

By Hayley Fowler

Tobacco giant R.J. Reynolds Vapor Co. said one of its in-house attorneys should not be forced to testify in person at an upcoming evidentiary hearing in a royalty fight with rival Philip Morris' parent company, arguing a recording of his deposition is all a North Carolina judge should need.

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NC Judge Finds Due Process Violations Moot In Asylum Case

By Ganesh Setty

A North Carolina federal judge denied an Egyptian national's renewed motion to block his removal as he seeks asylum, finding that while he wasn't given due process during a court-ordered immigration bond hearing, he was in a subsequent bond hearing.

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NC Utility Turns To CERCLA For DuPont PFAS Suit

By Gautama Mehta

A North Carolina water utility filed a second lawsuit accusing Dupont, Chemours and Corteva of polluting its systems with forever chemicals, this time under the "polluter pays" framework of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act.

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Splenda Loses Bid To End Scientist's Libel Counterclaim

By Hayley Fowler

The maker of Splenda lost its bid for a pretrial win on a scientist's counterclaims for libel after a North Carolina federal judge on Monday ruled they weren't filed too late because the counterclaims are directly linked to the company's defamation suit challenging her statements linking Splenda to cancer-causing chemicals.

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Radio Co. Says 'Opinions' End R&B Singer's Defamation Suit

By Abigail Harrison

A radio station owner and on-air host urged a North Carolina federal court to dismiss a defamation lawsuit from Grammy-nominated singer and songwriter Brian McKnight, arguing in dual memorandums that he plainly failed to support any aspect of his defamation claim — public figure or not.

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Insurer Can't Hide Deal With Security Co. In Shooting Dispute

By Hope Patti

A pair of insurers can't keep confidential the amount they received to resolve their coverage claims against a security company, a North Carolina federal court ruled, saying the insurers failed to overcome the public's presumptive right to access court records under the First Amendment and common law.

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States, AEG Say Live Nation Sanctions Bid Is Nonsense

By Stewart Bishop

A coalition of state-level enforcers and AEG Worldwide on Monday separately pushed back against accusations of witness tampering from Live Nation Entertainment Inc. amid a trial accusing the live entertainment giant and its Ticketmaster subsidiary of anticompetitive conduct, saying the defense allegations of undue influence are false.

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Apple Gets App Store Ruling Paused For High Court Appeal

By Dorothy Atkins

The Ninth Circuit granted Apple's request Monday to pause a panel decision in Epic Games Inc.'s favor while it petitions the U.S. Supreme Court to review the ruling, which largely affirmed an injunction barring Apple from charging developers "prohibitive" commissions on certain iPhone app purchases made outside its payment systems.

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Settlement In Sight For Amway, Supplement Co. In TM Dispute

By Abigail Harrison

A trademark dispute over gut health products between a supplement-maker and multi-level marketing giant Amway Corp. may be headed for settlement, according to a motion from Begin Health Inc. asking a North Carolina federal court to delay a coming hearing.

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Mich. Justices To Weigh Beach Profit Immunity Dispute

By Melanie Dorsey

The Michigan Supreme Court has ordered oral argument on whether the city of South Haven is shielded by governmental immunity in a wrongful death lawsuit stemming from a Lake Michigan drowning, putting before the justices a dispute over when municipal activity may expose a city to tort liability for injuries on public property. 

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Framing Biz Sues Machine Co. Over Faulty $15M Joint System

By Mike Curley

An Arizona-based company that makes framing materials for prefabricated homes is suing a German machinery maker, saying it failed to deliver a working $15 million finger joint fabrication system despite 18 months of working on it post-installation.

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Feds Seek To Enforce Trans Healthcare Orders During Appeal

By Patrick Hoff

The Trump administration has asked the Fourth Circuit to let it enforce executive orders that ban federal funding for gender-affirming care for patients under age 19 while its appeal of a nationwide injunction is pending, arguing it's likely to succeed in its bid to overturn the trial court's order.

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Biz Groups Urge 4th Circ. To End Allergan Overcharge Suit

By Tom Lotshaw

Major pharmaceutical and business associations urged the Fourth Circuit to reconsider a panel decision that revived a whistleblower lawsuit accusing an Allergan Sales LLC predecessor of overcharging Medicaid, warning it threatens to become a road map for False Claims Act abuses.

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Analysis

Can State Courts Tame The 'Wild West' Of Judicial Security?

By Cara Bayles

As threats against local judges continue to ramp up, protection and incident tracking varies not only from state to state but county to county, making it difficult to draw the national judicial security landscape. Now, lawmakers are looking to use federal resources to even out disparities.

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What A Court Doc Audit Reveals About Erroneous Filings

My audit of 1,522 court documents from last month found that over 95% contained at least one verifiable error, with fewer than 1% showing clear indicators of artificial intelligence use — highlighting above all else that lawyers may want to focus most on strengthening their review processes, says Elliott Ash at ETH Zurich.

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Pregnant DLA Piper Atty Fired For 'Sloppy' Work, Jury Told

By Pete Brush

A former trademark associate told a Manhattan federal jury Monday that DLA Piper "blindsided" her with termination after she announced she was pregnant, but the BigLaw firm countered that she was fired for "repeated mistakes" and other on-the-job shortcomings.

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Files Of 10 Jones Day Clients Breached In Cyberattack

By Aebra Coe

Jones Day is the latest law firm to be hit by a cyberattack, the firm confirmed Monday, revealing that an unauthorized party accessed files of 10 clients.

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Troutman, Ex-Associate Reach Deal In Discrimination Suit

By Emily Sawicki

A former Troutman Pepper Locke LLP associate asked a D.C. federal court Monday to pause a suit as the two sides have reported they had reached a settlement agreement over her discrimination claims against the firm, sidestepping a trial set to begin next month.

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Ex-EEOC Leaders Back BigLaw Firms In Trump EO Appeal

By Patrick Hoff

A group of former U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission officials are backing four BigLaw firms in the Trump administration's consolidated D.C. Circuit appeal seeking to revive executive orders targeting the firms, arguing the president's directives contradict how Congress meant for the EEOC to operate.

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Jackson Walker, Sorrento CEO Hit With RICO Suit Over Ch. 11

By Emlyn Cameron

More than a dozen Sorrento Therapeutics shareholders sued law firm Jackson Walker LLP and the defunct biopharmaceutical company's ex-CEO for over $100 million, accusing them of conspiring to launch an unnecessary bankruptcy in an irrelevant jurisdiction.

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LSC Seeks $2.14B As White House Pushes To Slash Funding

By Marco Poggio

The Legal Services Corp. is asking Congress for $2.14 billion in fiscal year 2027 to fund civil legal services for low-income Americans who cannot afford an attorney.

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Atty Convicted Of Staging Truck Crashes Seeks New Trial

By Parker Quinlan

A disbarred New Orleans attorney has asked a federal judge in Louisiana for a new insurance fraud trial, arguing a suite of issues from her federal trial last month caused her to receive what she described in a filing as a "miscarriage of justice."

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Trump Orders Could Chill US Arbitration, Group Warns

By Caroline Simson

The College of Commercial Arbitrators has urged the D.C. Circuit to reject the Trump administration's consolidated D.C. Circuit appeal seeking to revive executive orders yanking the security clearances of four BigLaw firms, arguing a contrary ruling would "imperil" arbitration in the U.S.

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Ex-Wis. Judge Loses Bid To Shake ICE Obstruction Conviction

By Lauren Berg

A federal judge Monday refused to overturn a former Wisconsin state judge's conviction for helping shield a defendant in her courtroom from arrest by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, rejecting her contention that, because ICE had no authority to make the arrest in the courthouse, there was no obstruction.

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Ill. Justices Want MAGA Op-Ed Author Judge's Claims Axed

By Emily Sawicki

Illinois Supreme Court justices have asked a Chicago federal judge to throw out constitutional claims filed by a retired Illinois state trial court judge alleging he was wrongfully terminated over protected speech in a political opinion column, with the justices arguing the federal court should not interfere with a state court matter.

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Justices Clear Path For DOJ To Dismiss Bannon's Conviction

By Cara Salvatore

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday vacated an appeals court's order upholding Steve Bannon's conviction over his nonresponse to a congressional subpoena investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection, clearing the way for the Justice Department to dismiss his indictment.

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Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court

By Jarek Rutz

The Delaware Chancery Court's docket this past week featured a mix of high-profile corporate disputes, insider trading allegations, contract fights and significant rulings shaping fiduciary duty and deal litigation.

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