Meta Owes Another $567M To Address Harm To NM Kids

By Lauren Berg and Cara Salvatore

Meta Platforms is on the hook for an additional $567 million after a New Mexico judge on Thursday determined that the Facebook and Instagram parent must take measures to protect its youngest users, following a jury's $375 million verdict that Meta hid the full scope of mental health harms its apps caused.

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Mead Preemption Bid Fails Before 1st Baby Formula MDL Trial

By Emily Field

An Illinois federal judge on Wednesday said Mead Johnson & Co. must face the first bellwether trial next week in multidistrict litigation over baby formula that allegedly was defective and harmed premature babies, rejecting the company's argument that the recent U.S. Supreme Court Monsanto decision blocks the plaintiff's claims.

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Google, Meta, Tiktok Still Subject To Calif. Feed Algorithm Law

By Mike Curley

A California federal judge has declined to block enforcement of a new California law that restricts personalized social media algorithm feeds, finding that Google, TikTok and Meta have failed to show the law infringes on their First Amendment rights.

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Sherwin-Williams Unable To Can Co.'s Fireproof False Ad Suit

By Jonathan Capriel

Sherwin-Williams must face claims it falsely advertised its Firetex coating as being able to achieve substantial fire resistance in fewer coats than rival brands' products, causing a competitor's sales to slump, a Missouri federal judge ruled, saying the paint giant's marketing was not mere puffery.

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Mercedes Drivers Say Metallic Seat Logos Can Cause Burns

By Hailey Konnath

A pair of Mercedes drivers says the seats in some vehicles have raised metallic AMG logo badges that heat up in the sun and then burn unwitting drivers and passengers, sometimes leaving them with painful second-degree burns that visibly bear the logo, according to a proposed class action filed Wednesday.

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Stalking Victim Needs To File New Apple AirTag Suit In Fla.

By David Minsky

A Florida federal judge on Thursday struck a woman's lawsuit alleging a former romantic partner tracked her with Apple Inc.'s "stalker proof" AirTags, saying she must file a more specific complaint or else her claims will be dismissed.

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Spirit Aero Fights Damages Ask In Boeing 737 Blowout Suit

By Rachel Riley

Boeing supplier Spirit AeroSystems on Wednesday said punitive damages aren't available to a mother and son suing it in federal court over a midair door plug blowout on a 737 Max jet flying out of Oregon because they have not alleged any misconduct by the supplier in the state.

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What Cos. Must Know About EPA Water Monitoring Proposal

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's newly proposed rule that would require public water systems to monitor for 30 unregulated drinking water contaminants does not impose new obligations on companies, but the data collected could affect future policy, investigations and litigation, says Ayodeji Ayolola at Gordon Rees.

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FTC-Deere Deal Tells Cautionary Tale On Repair Access Limits

A recent proposed Federal Trade Commission antitrust settlement in Illinois federal court requires Deere & Co. to provide access to repair services previously available only to authorized dealers, and companies that limit access to aftermarket resources should ensure they can substantiate the reasoning behind any restrictions, say attorneys at Freshfields.

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Series

Being A Sommelier Makes Me A Better Lawyer

Being a sommelier has quietly shaped how I practice law by changing the way I think, communicate and connect with people, and offers a constant reminder that expertise is about making your knowledge useful and accessible to others, says Kara Du at Sheppard.

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Opinion

After Monsanto, Defense Bar Must Build Case Against Lohr

The U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision in Monsanto v. Durnell has helped to demolish the foundation for its problematic 1996 ruling in Medtronic v. Lohr — so now defense counsel should lay the groundwork for the high court to overturn Lohr, say attorneys at Blank Rome.

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How Does In-House Pay Compare? Take The Law360 Survey

How do in-house salaries vary across industries, roles, and organizational revenue? What compensation tools are companies using to lure top talent? Help Law360 Pulse answer these questions and more in this year's In-House Compensation Survey.

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No Simpson Thacher Malpractice In PIPE Case, Jury Finds

By Madison Arnold

Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP escaped a malpractice lawsuit late Thursday over its representation of Patriot National Inc. in a private investment in public equity transaction in the years before the company's downfall.

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Dems Slam Skadden's 'Nothing To See Here' Trump Deal Reply

By Hailey Konnath

Three Democratic lawmakers on Thursday criticized Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom LLP's response to their request that the firm disclose details of its pro bono arrangement with the Trump administration, saying the firm's "three sentence letter essentially saying 'nothing to see here'" is "not going to cut it."

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New ABA Chief Seeks To 'Streamline' Org., Defend Democracy

By Emily Sawicki

The American Bar Association's new president, Barbara J. Howard, will focus on twin goals of defending democracy against expected unprecedented attacks associated with this year's midterm elections, while also reorganizing the association to run more efficiently, as she kicks off her one-year term this month.

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Richards Layton Under Fire Amid Bid To Avoid AI Sanctions

By Rose Krebs

A firm has asked a Delaware vice chancellor to allow it to submit more "factual information" regarding what it says are inconsistencies in Richards Layton & Finger PA's attempt to avoid sanctions for submitting a filing with errors generated by artificial intelligence.

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Analysis

The Dramatic Moments Set To Shape Tom Goldstein's Appeal

By Jeff Overley and Jared Foretek

Prurient revelations, brash recriminations and purportedly glaring judicial errors in Tom Goldstein's criminal case have captivated the appellate bar for nearly 19 months, and many of those moments will be center stage in the star attorney's imminent appeal.

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2nd Circ. Says Pillsbury Must Surrender $3.6M Retainer

By Jessica Corso

Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP was ordered on Thursday to hand over a $3.6 million retainer it was paid to defend a client against criminal and civil fraud charges, with the Second Circuit upholding a ruling that the funds were part of an asset freeze order issued in a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission case.

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Ex-GC Hijacked Accounts And Posted Klan Imagery, Suit Says

By Ben Adlin

A Washington state court granted a temporary restraining order Wednesday in a school fundraising company's lawsuit accusing its former general counsel of taking control of its social media accounts and allegedly replacing its LinkedIn photo with a manipulated image of its president in a Ku Klux Klan robe.

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Ex-Girardi Atty Gets Probation For Keeping Silent On Theft

By Lauraann Wood

A former Girardi Keese attorney was sentenced to one day time-served and two years of probation Thursday for staying quiet and failing to report disgraced plaintiff's attorney Tom Girardi's theft of millions of settlement dollars owed to Lion Air Flight 620 plane crash victims.

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Wash. Justices Offer Bar Waiver After July Exam Tech Failure

By Rachel Riley

The Washington State Supreme Court said Thursday it's offering to waive the bar exam requirement for first-time applicants who were unable to take the test last week due to an abrupt cancellation driven by technical issues at the Yakima Convention Center where it was scheduled to be administered.   

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Justices' FTC Ruling Weakens Qui Tam's Constitutional Base

The U.S. Supreme Court’s holding in Trump v. Slaughter, expanding presidential control over those exercising executive power, suggests that courts may be receptive to arguments challenging the constitutional foundations of the False Claims Act’s qui tam mechanism, says Daniel Passeser at Wiggin.

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