Pornhub Gets Initial Nod For $120M Child Content Class Deal

By Craig Clough

A California federal judge granted preliminary approval Friday to a $120 million settlement reached by the companies behind Pornhub to end certified class claims in California and Alabama by child sex trafficking and sexual abuse material survivors who allege the video-sharing website profited from crimes committed against them.

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J&J Hit With $1.9M Verdict Over Talc User's Cancer

By Cara Salvatore

A Massachusetts jury said Friday that Johnson & Johnson owes $1.9 million for causing the mesothelioma, but not the death, of a former talcum powder user who also had a heart condition.

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Snapchat Features Helped Predator Groom Child, Suit Says

By Emily Field

Snap Inc. was hit with a suit in Washington federal court by parents who say their daughter was groomed and exploited by an adult predator who used the social media platform's algorithmic features to target and threaten her across state lines.

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Boeing Can't Appeal Punitive Damages Door Plug Ruling

By Ben Adlin

A Washington state judge Thursday rejected Boeing's effort to quickly appeal a ruling that denied its bid to block punitive damages in passengers' lawsuit over the 2024 blowout of an aircraft door panel, siding with plaintiffs attempting to show the incident had ties to the aerospace giant's former Chicago headquarters.

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Google Sued Over Claims Its School AI Fueled Suicide Plot

By Dorothy Atkins

A North Carolina couple have hit Google with a product liability lawsuit that was removed to California federal court Wednesday, alleging that the tech giant negligently rolled out a dangerous version of Gemini AI on school-issued Chromebooks that led their once-healthy 13-year-old daughter into a "life-threatening obsession" that "coached" her suicide plot.

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Judge Doubts Ukrainians Can Tie Semiconductors To Strikes

By Spencer Brewer

A Texas federal judge seemed hesitant Friday to buy an argument that several semiconductor manufacturers had a duty to prevent their components from ending up in Russian missiles targeting Ukrainian civilians, asking what duty exists under Texas state law.

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Opinion

Judges Must Turn To Merits Earlier To Fix Civil Justice System

The U.S. justice system is long overdue for a cultural shift that encourages judges to engage with the merits of a case from the outset, which would help to cut through procedural complexities and deliver high-quality justice efficiently and at lower cost, says Steven Kayman at Rottenberg Lipman.

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High Court Disbars Judicial Watch Founder Larry Klayman

By David Minsky

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday disbarred Judicial Watch founder and Florida conservative activist attorney Larry Klayman following his 18-month suspension issued last year by the D.C. Court of Appeals. 

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Firms Must Face RICO Claims In Asbestos Fraud Suit

By Emily Field

An Illinois federal judge on Friday held that Simmons Hanly Conroy LLP and Sokolove Law must face racketeering claims brought by a Los Angeles industrial pipe manufacturer alleging that the firms brought baseless asbestos claims, finding that an antitrust doctrine shielding those who petition the courts does not apply.

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DOJ's Civil Division Head Joins Agency Exits After Midterms

By Jack Karp

The leader of the U.S. Department of Justice's Civil Division, Brett A. Shumate, on Monday became at least the fifth top DOJ official to step down following Republicans' defeat in last week's midterm elections.

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Trump Eyes OLC Chief For Texas Judgeship After Midterms

By Courtney Bublé

President Donald Trump is considering the head of the U.S. Department of Justice's Office of Legal Counsel for a federal judgeship in Texas, a process that started right after the Democrats won big in last week's midterm elections.

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Goldstein Says Gov't Conceded Key Trial Errors

By Jared Foretek

SCOTUSblog co-founder Thomas Goldstein told the Fourth Circuit that the federal prosecutors who netted 12 tax and mortgage fraud convictions effectively conceded they hid evidence by steering a key witness to new testimony mid-trial and had reversed their stance on jury instructions, two key issues in Goldstein's appeal.

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AAA Says Consumers' Monopoly Claims Lack Factual Support

By Caroline Simson

The American Arbitration Association is lashing out against consumers who accuse the institution of monopolizing the consumer arbitration services market, telling a federal judge on Monday that they should be sanctioned for including "false, misleading, and unsupported allegations" in an amended complaint.

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Wash. Panel Nixes $10K Sanctions On Monsanto PCB Attys

By Rachel Riley

A Washington Court of Appeals panel has overturned a combined $10,000 in sanctions against four attorneys who defended Monsanto from chemical poisoning claims, concluding Monday that the trial court overstepped its authority by personally punishing the lawyers for late disclosure of expert witnesses.

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Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court

By Jarek Rutz

The Delaware Chancery Court last week cleared the way for Cloudflare Inc. to seek immediate review of an injunction blocking a stock restructuring designed to preserve its founders' control, while setting a January hearing in a similar dispute over Meta Platforms Inc.'s plan to create nonvoting shares.

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