Meta Owes $375M In NM Trial Over Harm To Teens

By Cara Salvatore

A New Mexico jury said Tuesday that Meta must pay $375 million over the state attorney general's bellwether claims that the social media giant hid the full scope of mental health harm its apps were causing to underage users.

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Beasley Allen Says NJ Justices Review Of Talc DQ 'Essential'

By George Woolston

Beasley Allen urged the New Jersey Supreme Court to hear its appeal of a lower court's decision to disqualify it from representing plaintiffs in multicounty litigation over Johnson & Johnson's talc-based baby powder, arguing that the court's immediate review of the interlocutory order is "essential."

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AI Tools May 'Disrobe' Meta Of Section 230 Shield, Judge Says

By Dorothy Atkins

A California federal judge trimmed Tuesday a proposed class action alleging Meta Platforms Inc. knowingly participated in a Chinese pump-and-dump scheme advertised on social media, but found there's a factual dispute over whether Meta's AI tools materially contributed to the "facially ridiculous" ads.

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Justices Won't Review Class Cert. In Diabetes Drug Risk Case

By Mark Payne

The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to review whether a federal court can certify a class of third-party payors who claim drugmakers hid the cancer risks of an anti-diabetes drug.

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Snap Suit Tossed For State Enforcement Action Interference

By Mike Curley

A Utah federal judge on Tuesday dismissed Snap Inc.'s suit against two state officials aiming to block a state enforcement action, finding that the court must abstain while that enforcement action is pending.

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Meta Tackles Borrowed Underwear Analogy In Privacy Suit

By Bonnie Eslinger

A California federal judge mulling Meta's argument that its users' consent bars a proposed privacy class action pressed Meta's lawyers Tuesday on whether social expectations affect the bounds of that consent, observing that if she gave a friend permission to borrow her clothes, "I don't expect her to borrow my underwear."

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Baltimore Takes XAI To Court Over Grok's Sexual Deepfakes

By Lauren Berg

Baltimore on Tuesday became one of the first municipalities to sue Elon Musk's xAI over the Grok artificial intelligence platform's ability to transform ordinary photographs into nonconsensual sexualized deepfake images, including creating child sexual abuse material, saying it's exposing city residents to degrading content, harassment and psychological harm.

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AGs Seek Federal Help To Tackle Chinese App Drug Trade

By Abigail Harrison

North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson announced Monday that he's leading a bipartisan group of state enforcers in asking the federal government to act on drug traffickers' co-opting of Chinese-owned messaging app WeChat and its sister app Weixin to propagate the illegal drug trade. 

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Court Rules Insurers Not Liable For Nitrous Oxide Injuries

By Sam Reisman

A Louisiana federal judge has released two insurance companies from having to defend a nitrous oxide seller in a personal injury suit after the court found that injuries stemming from the use of psychotropic substances were excluded from coverage.

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Judge Trims DEA's Suspension Of Fla. Pharmacy's Permits

By Sam Reisman

A D.C. federal judge has granted a Florida pharmacy's motion to partially suspend a Drug Enforcement Administration order that halted its operations, saying the agency didn't adequately explain why it revoked the pharmacy's registration in the first place.

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Wash. Store Owner, Insurer Say Tool Co. Owes $8.7M For Fire

By Hope Patti

A defective Stanley Black & Decker Inc. battery pack caused a fire that destroyed a Washington Ace Hardware store, the store owner and its insurer said Tuesday in a suit against the toolmaker in Washington federal court, seeking to recover more than $8.7 million in damages.

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Nicotine Pouch Maker To Refile FDA Suit In DC After Transfer

By Jonathan Capriel

The maker and seller of Zone nicotine pouches on Tuesday dismissed its own lawsuit accusing the U.S. Food and Drug Administration of unfairly holding up a market application for its product, promising to refile in D.C. federal court after a Texas federal court transferred it to South Carolina federal court.

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NTSB Probes LaGuardia Runway Alerts, Air Traffic Control

By Linda Chiem

A runway surveillance system at LaGuardia Airport did not alert air traffic controllers to the potential collision between an Air Canada passenger jet and a fire truck, which did not have a transponder, that crossed its path, the National Transportation Safety Board said Tuesday.

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Md. Supreme Court Nixes Climate Torts Against Energy Cos.

By Keith Goldberg

Maryland's highest court on Tuesday dismissed climate change lawsuits brought by local governments against fossil fuel companies, saying that state law can't be used to impose liability for global greenhouse gas pollution.

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NC Justices To Decide If AG Can Pursue DuPont Pollution Suit

By Hayley Fowler

The North Carolina Supreme Court's conservative majority has agreed to take up an appeal by two DuPont spinoffs challenging the state attorney general's authority to sue them over forever chemical contamination, granting certiorari over the objection of their liberal colleagues.

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DC Judge Says Interior's Offshore Air Rule Not Arbitrary

By Mike Curley

A D.C. federal judge has sided with the U.S. Department of the Interior and an oil and gas group in a suit by environmentalists challenging a 2020 final rule on air pollution, finding that the rule isn't arbitrary or capricious, and falls within the agency's discretion.

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And Now A Word From The Panel: New Rules For The JPML

On the heels of a new federal rule of civil procedure governing multidistrict litigation, the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation has adopted amendments to its own rules on subjects ranging from motions to seal to oral arguments — and it behooves panel practitioners to familiarize themselves with these changes, says Alan Rothman at Sidley.

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Witness AI Usage Is The Next Privilege Battle In Civil Litigation

Fact and expert witnesses now have immediate access to artificial intelligence systems capable of simulating deposition questioning, recommending answers and more, but this preparation occurs privately, invisibly and frequently under the mistaken assumption that it is harmless, says Bill Kanasky at Courtroom Sciences and Billy Davis at Taylor Nelson.

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DOJ Says Gov't Attys Can't Be Punished Over ICE's Actions

By Ryan Boysen

The Trump administration says a Minnesota federal judge erred by holding a government attorney in contempt after U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement flouted a court order, claiming the lawyer was "wrongfully held captive to induce ICE's compliance."

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Judicial Conference Backs Latest Judge Newman Suspension

By Jack Karp

The federal judiciary on Tuesday upheld the latest extension of Federal Circuit Judge Pauline Newman's suspension and the decision not to transfer her case to another circuit, finding neither to be unconstitutional.

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Goldstein Seeks New Trial, Citing 'A Series Of Legal Errors'

By Emily Sawicki

SCOTUSblog founder and appellate icon Thomas Goldstein has filed a lengthy motion for a new trial or acquittal after his conviction on a dozen criminal charges related to tax evasion, alleging his trial was marred by improper jury instructions, improper exclusion of evidence and inadequate evidence, among other things.

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Analysis

Fraud Task Force May Boost White Collar Defense Work

By Phillip Bantz

A new federal anti-fraud task force involving at least a dozen federal agencies could soon expose more state and local governments, contractors, companies and others to compliance risks, particularly in healthcare fraud and False Claims Act cases, experts say.

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Fla. Judge Faces Discipline For Remark About Shooting Attys

By David Minsky

A Florida state judge is facing a public reprimand after admitting to becoming frustrated with attorneys in an estate dispute and saying that he "would like to tell the deputy to pull his gun and shoot all three of you," according to records filed Tuesday in the state's high court.

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Senate Confirms Chief Of New DOJ Fraud Division

By Courtney Bublé

The U.S. Senate voted 52-47, along party lines, on Tuesday to confirm Colin McDonald to the newly created assistant attorney general for fraud role.

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Reed Smith's Silence On Depo 'Speaks Volumes,' Ex-Atty Says

By Jake Maher

A former Reed Smith LLP attorney suing the firm for underpaying her based on her gender criticized the firm for its "inexcusable delay and attempted meandering" in seeking to resume deposing her years after her last deposition date.

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