The Third Circuit on Friday revived a proposed class action against Mazie Slater Katz & Freeman LLC attorneys that claims they took excessive fees from plaintiffs' settlements in multidistrict litigation over the blood pressure drug Benicar, remanding the dispute for the district court to determine whether it has jurisdiction over the case.
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TOP NEWS

3rd Circ. Revives Benicar MDL Fees Suit Against NJ Law Firm

By Carla Baranauckas

The Third Circuit on Friday revived a proposed class action against Mazie Slater Katz & Freeman LLC attorneys that claims they took excessive fees from plaintiffs' settlements in multidistrict litigation over the blood pressure drug Benicar, remanding the dispute for the district court to determine whether it has jurisdiction over the case.

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6th Circ. Tosses Arbitration Denial In FCA Minivan Fire MDL

By Jonathan Capriel

A Michigan federal judge flubbed it when he denied Fiat Chrysler's bid to push into arbitration some of the plug-in hybrid minivan drivers who claim in multidistrict litigation that their vehicles could spontaneously explode, the Sixth Circuit ruled Thursday, saying the judge tipped the scales against the automaker by raising arguments the drivers hadn't mentioned.

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Dow, Others Can't Duck NY Water District's Contamination Suit

By Juan-Carlos Rodriguez

Dow and two other companies must face a New York state water district's claims that they contaminated drinking water supply wells with a highly toxic chemical, a federal judge has said.

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Tesla Faces Trial Over Fatal Autopilot Crash In Florida

By Carolina Bolado

The first third-party wrongful death case involving Tesla's autopilot system is headed to trial Monday in Miami federal court, where jurors will determine whether the autopilot was at fault for the death of a pedestrian in a Florida Keys crash.

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5th Circ. Cites Expert Errors In Rejecting BP Spill Sinus Claims

By Jonathan Capriel

The Fifth Circuit has ended a cleanup worker's toxic tort lawsuit against BP Exploration & Production Inc. claiming he suffered sinus issues from cleaning up the 2010 Deepwater Horizon spill, saying his experts' testimony, some of which was riddled with errors, was properly ejected by the trial court.

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Analysis

Courts Face Early Push To Expand Justices' Injunction Ruling

By Katie Buehler

In the two weeks since the U.S. Supreme Court curtailed federal judges' ability to issue universal injunctions, Trump administration attorneys have begun pushing to expand the decision's limits to other forms of relief used in regulatory challenges and class actions. So far, judges don't appear receptive to those efforts. 

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TRANSPORTATION

Ethiopian Airlines Case Settles '2 Minutes' Before Last Hearing

By Lauraann Wood

A Chicago damages trial set for a man who lost his immediate family in an Ethiopian Airlines plane crash can be taken off the books because his case settled "literally two minutes" before his final pretrial hearing, attorneys told an Illinois federal judge Friday.

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Transportation Policies To Watch In 2025: A Midyear Report

By Linda Chiem

Sweeping new tariffs, revised vehicle emission and fuel-economy standards, and aviation safety reforms are some of the transportation industry's top regulatory priorities to watch in the second half of 2025.

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TOBACCO

7th Circ. Tosses Korean Samsung Arm From Vape Battery Suit

By Mike Curley

The Seventh Circuit won't revive a minor's claims against South Korea-based Samsung SDI Co. Ltd. over his injuries from an exploding vape battery, saying there's too much of a "disconnect" between the company's marketing of batteries for use in battery packs and finished products and the sale of an individual battery like the one in this case.

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FOOD & BEVERAGE

Stanley Mug Maker Seeks To Dodge Class Suit Over Lid Recall

By Rachel Riley

The Seattle-based company behind the popular Stanley-brand tumbler is urging a Washington federal judge to throw out a proposed class action from consumers who alleged the company's travel mug is defective, criticizing the plaintiffs' counsel for "sprinting to the courthouse" even though the manufacturer offered replacement lids during a voluntary recall.

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CONSUMER GOODS

Cannabis Industry Group Praises Hemp Ban In Spending Bill

By Sam Reisman

A cannabis industry trade group has applauded a U.S. Senate committee's adoption of language in a federal appropriations bill that would ban consumable hemp-derived products with THC, while hemp industry stakeholders are seeking to use a one-year delay to amend a policy they say would kill the market.

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FIREARMS

2nd Circ. Backs NY Liability Law Targeting Gunmakers

By Bonnie Eslinger

The Second Circuit has upheld a New York public nuisance statute that opens up firearm manufacturers to civil lawsuits for acts of violence involving their guns.

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Gun Group's NJ Nuisance Law Case Paused Amid State Action

By Carla Baranauckas

A New Jersey federal judge has put the National Shooting Sports Foundation's lawsuit against the Garden State on hold, finding that the group's challenges to a state law — holding gunmakers and sellers liable for crimes committed with their products — are also being raised by one of its members in a related state enforcement action.

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Dem States Drop Bid To Block Machine Gun Trigger Returns

By Mike Curley

Sixteen Democrat-led states and the District of Columbia told a Maryland federal judge Friday that they are dropping their motion to block the federal government from returning forced-reset triggers for guns to their owners, following declarations from the government and others that they would not distribute the products into states where possession is illegal.

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Mich. Gun Store Seeks Escape From School Shooting Suit

By Carolyn Muyskens

A gun dealer has asked a Michigan state appellate court to dismiss a lawsuit over the sale of a gun used in a deadly school shooting, arguing it can't be held responsible for the buyer giving the gun to his son.

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LEGAL INDUSTRY

Firing Of DOJ Ethics Chief Draws Watchdog Groups' Concerns

By Jack Karp

Attorney General Pam Bondi has fired the attorney responsible for advising the U.S. Department of Justice's top officials on matters of ethics, according to a Monday social media post by that ethics lawyer.

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WilmerHale DQed From Representing Verizon In Patent Row

By Adam Lidgett

A federal magistrate judge in Texas has disqualified WilmerHale from representing Verizon on the eve of a trial over allegations that the telecommunications company infringed wireless communications patents owned by Headwater Research.

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Girardi Keese CFO Gets 5 Concurrent Years For Aiding Theft

By Lauraann Wood

Girardi Keese's former accounting head should serve more than five years alongside the 10 he's already logging for his role in helping Tom Girardi steal millions from plane crash clients who'd settled their cases in Chicago, an Illinois federal judge said Monday.

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UAE Prisoner Voluntarily Drops Suit Against Ex-Dechert GC

By Emily Sawicki

A Jordanian lawyer imprisoned in the United Arab Emirates has permanently dropped a Philadelphia civil suit seeking discovery against Dechert LLP's former general counsel in the U.S. over what the law firm's leadership knew of alleged human rights abuses committed by a former partner.

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6th Circ. Judge Is 1st Sen. Confirmation Of Trump's 2nd Term

By Courtney Bublé

The Senate voted 46-42 on Monday evening to confirm Whitney Hermandorfer, director of the Office of the Tennessee Attorney General's Strategic Litigation Unit, to the Sixth Circuit, making her the first judicial confirmation of the second Trump administration.

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Audio

San Francisco DA: 'Tough On Crime' Can Also Be Thoughtful

By Brandon Lowrey

In 2022, San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins took charge of an office in turmoil after leading a successful recall effort against her predecessor, whom she criticized as too soft on crime. Now, Jenkins is under harsh public scrutiny as she works to shift the office's priorities. In this audio interview with the new Criminal Practice Law360, she discusses some of the challenges — and opportunities — of one of the highest-profile and most politicized prosecutors' offices in the nation.

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NY Court Declines To Make Trump US Atty Permanent

By Andrea Keckley

The Northern District of New York said on Monday that it has declined to appoint interim U.S. Attorney John A. Sarcone III to the permanent seat ahead of his short-term tenure's expiration, despite his previous comments to the contrary to local media.

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Fla. Landlord Accuses Akerman Of Botching Lease Language

By Emily Sawicki

Real estate investor Turner Healthcare Facilities Fund LP on Monday accused its former Akerman LLP counsel in a south Florida state court of having committed a $45 million "mistake" by approving unenforceable clauses in leases on properties the investor owned.

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Texas AG Says Several Officials Indicted For Ballot Collection

By Spencer Brewer

The Texas Office of the Attorney General released a statement Monday announcing indictments and arrests for nine people for an allegedly ongoing ballot collection scheme in Frio County, adding to a growing list of state officials facing charges for participation in the alleged scheme.

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Supreme Court Clears Way For Education Dept. Layoffs

By Katie Buehler and Jeff Overley

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday lifted a Massachusetts federal judge's order halting massive job cuts at the U.S. Department of Education, allowing the Trump administration to move forward with firing nearly 1,400 employees.

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CFTC Must Pay $3M Atty Fees As Sanctions In Forex Case

By Jake Maher

A New Jersey federal judge ordered the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission on Friday to pay back over $3.1 million in attorney fees to a foreign exchange company after dismissing the regulator's case for bad-faith sanctionable behavior.

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Former Del. GOP Leader Sworn In As US Atty

By Lynn LaRowe

The former head of the Delaware Republican Party was sworn in Monday as the top federal prosecutor in the First State, according to the agency's website and a social media post from the attorney.

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LAW FIRMS IN TODAY'S NEWS

Akerman LLP

Barrack Rodos

Bodman PLC

Bowman & Brooke

Casey Gerry

Clement & Murphy

Clifford Law Offices

Cotchett Pitre

Dechert LLP

Dhillon Law Group

Downs Law Group

Dykema

Eaton & Wolk

Edelson PC

Gibson Dunn

Girardi & Keese

Gupta Wessler

Hagens Berman

Hanson Bridgett

Hausfeld LLP

Hogan Lovells

Holland & Knight

Hughes Hubbard

King & Spalding

Kirkland & Ellis

Klein Thomas

Kreindler & Kreindler

Lewis Wagner

Liskow & Lewis

Maron Marvel

Matthew G. Miller PC

Mazie Slater

McCarter & English

Miller & Chevalier

Miller Fair

Murray Phillips & Gay

Nagel Rice

Norton Rose

Perkins Coie

Phillips Lytle

Podhurst Orseck

Quinn Emanuel

Rousso Boumel

Russ August

Sheppard Mullin

Sher Edling

Sher Garner

Shook Hardy

Singleton Schreiber

Siri & Glimstad

Smith Gambrell

Smith Krivoshey

Sommers Schwartz

Stranch Jennings

Vedder Price

Venable LLP

WilmerHale

Winston & Strawn

COMPANIES IN TODAY'S NEWS

Above the Law

American Airlines Group Inc.

Apple Inc.

Citizens for Responsibility & Ethics in Washington

Democracy Forward Foundation

Dow Inc.

Epic Games Inc.

Ethiopian Airlines Enterprise

FCA US LLC

Federalist Society

Ferro Corp.

George Washington University

Glock Inc.

LinkedIn Corp.

Meta Platforms Inc.

National Conference of State Legislatures

National Shooting Sports Foundation Inc.

Pfizer Inc.

Public Citizen Inc.

Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.

Smart Approaches to Marijuana

Smith & Wesson Brands Inc.

Syngenta AG

Tesla Inc.

The Procter & Gamble Co.

Verizon Communications Inc.

Vulcan Materials Co.

GOVERNMENT AGENCIES IN TODAY'S NEWS

Commodity Futures Trading Commission

Federal Aviation Administration

Federal Bureau of Investigation

Food and Drug Administration

Illinois Attorney General's Office

Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office

Maryland Attorney General's Office

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

National Labor Relations Board

National Transportation Safety Board

Nevada Attorney General's Office

New Jersey Attorney General's Office

New York Attorney General's Office

State of Michigan

Suffolk County Water Authority

Tennessee Attorney General's Office

U.S. Army

U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Massachusetts

U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Illinois

U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit

U.S. Department of Commerce

U.S. Department of Defense

U.S. Department of Education

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

U.S. Department of Homeland Security

U.S. Department of Justice

U.S. Department of Labor

U.S. Department of Transportation

U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia

U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware

U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland

U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey

U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York

U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania

U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York

U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida

U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York

U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

U.S. General Services Administration

U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board

U.S. Navy

U.S. Senate

U.S. Supreme Court