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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Calif. Panel Won't Reinstate Schools' Social Media Suits

By Mike Curley

A California state appeals court has declined to revive claims from four school districts in California, Florida, Washington and Rhode Island against Meta, Google, Youtube, Snapchat and TikTok over children's mental health, agreeing with a lower court that they cannot pursue negligence and nuisance claims.

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Tesla Asks 11th Circ. To Vacate $243M Fatal Crash Verdict

By Mike Curley

Tesla Inc. is urging the Eleventh Circuit to vacate a $243 million verdict against it in a fatal crash involving one of its vehicles, saying the driver's recklessness, not any defect in the vehicle, caused the collision in the Florida Keys.

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Meta Looks To Toss Facial Data AI Training Claims

By Celeste Bott

Meta Platforms Inc. has urged an Illinois federal judge to throw out a proposed class action accusing it of illegally harvesting Facebook and Instagram users' facial data to train artificial intelligence models, arguing that the plaintiffs cannot show their specific photos were used and that the company is exempt from Illinois' biometric privacy law because of its financial services subsidiary.

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British Columbia Says OpenAI Shooting Suit Must Stay In US

By Jonathan Capriel

OpenAI shouldn't be allowed to escape a California federal court lawsuit accusing it of encouraging an 18-year-old to commit a mass shooting at a British Columbia school, the Canadian province argued, saying the most important evidence, the shooter's chat logs and company internal review records, are in the United States.

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Brief

FDA Orders New GLP-1 Risk Warnings Over Vision Loss

By Emily Field

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Monday said it is requiring new warnings on GLP-1 medications, the group of blockbuster drugs prescribed for diabetes and weight loss, for a serious, rare condition that can cause sudden and possibly permanent vision loss in one eye.

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Justices Seek US View On Pharma's Iraq Terror Liability

By Madeline Lyskawa

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday invited the U.S. solicitor general to opine on a lawsuit accusing pharmaceutical companies of aiding a Hezbollah-linked militia's terrorist activities in Iraq, after the D.C. Circuit held the plaintiffs adequately alleged that the companies' participation was conscious and voluntary.

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Ex-Eli Lilly Rep Fights Firing After Flagging Mounjaro Abuse

By Spencer Brewer

A former pharmaceutical sales representative on Monday told a Texas federal court that Eli Lilly and Co. wrongfully fired her after she blew the whistle on the company's practice of offering its lucrative drug Mounjaro as a weight loss drug, saying Eli Lilly asked her to breach the law.

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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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Detroit Can't Claim Immunity In Crumbling Curb Injury Suit

By Susan Smiley

A Michigan appellate panel ruled that governmental immunity does not protect Detroit from premises liability claims brought by a man who sustained serious injuries when a curb crumbled beneath his foot outside a liquor store.

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Seattle Area Residents Aim To Relaunch Airport Pollution Suit

By Rachel Riley

Washington residents are seeking a federal judge's permission to revamp their proposed class action over alleged flight path pollution near the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, with the goal of bringing federal claims against the airport operator and major airlines after the Ninth Circuit ruled out their previous state law claims.

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Policy Not Yet Triggered For Contamination Costs, Court Told

By Hope Patti

A steel manufacturer must exhaust a $25 million property policy and pay an additional $5 million before an environmental liability policy will cover damage stemming from a radioactive contamination incident, an Allianz insurer told an Indiana federal court.

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How A Child Of Immigrants Defends Abrego Garcia

By Corey Rothauser

Hecker Fink attorney Jeffrey Then grew up translating English-language letters for customers at his Dominican immigrant family’s Bronx business. Decades later, he drew on that experience while defending Kilmar Abrego Garcia from federal human smuggling charges, becoming a lifeline for Abrego Garcia during his detention.

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Q&A

John Morgan On Why Luck Matters More Than Most Admit

By Y. Peter Kang

John Morgan, founder of personal injury giant Morgan & Morgan PA, built the largest personal injury firm in the U.S., with 1,110 attorneys in 140 locations. In his new memoir, "Life Is Luck," the attorney who Forbes estimates has a net worth of $1.5 billion argues that success is about more than talent, intelligence or determination. It is also about recognizing opportunities, taking risks and capitalizing on fortunate breaks when they appear.

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Wachtell To Probe Nvidia CEO's Affair With Alleged China Spy

By Anna Scott Farrell and Sue Reisinger

Nvidia has hired Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz to lead an investigation into allegations that its founder and CEO had an affair with a business executive who U.S. intelligence believes is a Chinese spy, the artificial intelligence chipmaker said Tuesday.

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Grassley Defends Rush To Confirm Trump Judicial Picks

By Courtney Bublé

Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, on Tuesday defended how quickly the committee is moving to confirm President Donald Trump's judicial picks before Democrats control the Senate.

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Trump Swaps Out Blocked 8th Circ. Nominee With Ark. Justice

By Courtney Bublé

President Donald Trump on Tuesday withdrew his pick for the Eighth Circuit and replaced him with a different nominee amid apparent opposition from Arkansas' senators. 

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