Reinsurers Say Arbitrator DQ Bid Should Stay In Federal Court

By Gianna Ferrarin

Reinsurers are urging a New York federal court not to heed a Farmers unit's request to remand its suit seeking disqualification of an arbitrator from an asbestos coverage fight, arguing the insurer wrongly framed the dispute as an attorney ethics matter.

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Pfizer Failed To Warn Of Depo-Provera Cancer Risk, Suit Says

By Kelcey Caulder

A Georgia woman who alleged she developed a brain tumor after taking the contraceptive drug Depo-Provera sued Pfizer in federal court, claiming the company failed to warn American patients about the danger even though it does so on warning labels in the European Union.

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Atty Convicted Of Staging Truck Crashes Seeks New Trial

By Parker Quinlan

A disbarred New Orleans attorney has asked a federal judge in Louisiana for a new insurance fraud trial, arguing a suite of issues from her federal trial last month caused her to receive what she described in a filing as a "miscarriage of justice."

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NC Utility Turns To CERCLA For DuPont PFAS Suit

By Gautama Mehta

A North Carolina water utility filed a second lawsuit accusing Dupont, Chemours and Corteva of polluting its systems with forever chemicals, this time under the "polluter pays" framework of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act.

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Stanley Bottle Maker Beats Renewed Class Action Over Lead

By Ben Adlin

A Seattle federal judge dismissed a consumer lawsuit accusing the maker of Stanley tumblers of concealing its use of lead in drinkware products, ruling Friday that shoppers failed to show "a specific and plausible risk of harm" from lead-containing pellets used to seal the insulated containers.

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Justices Urged To Curb Post-Mallory Forum Shopping

By Linda Chiem

Rail industry and legal advocates contend the U.S. Supreme Court's 2023 Mallory ruling unleashed a wave of forum-shopping by plaintiffs lawyers using states' business-registration laws to sue out-of-state companies, and the justices must intervene and stop litigants from unconstitutionally interfering with interstate commerce.

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Molson Coors Sued Over Beer Cap Blast That Ruptured Eye

By Corey Rothauser

A Pennsylvania bartender has sued Molson Coors and a local beer distributor in state court, alleging that a defective Miller Lite bottle's cap "exploded off of the bottle," striking her in the left eye and causing loss of vision.

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Google, YouTube Want Out Of Disney Kids Data Privacy Suit

By Craig Clough

Google and YouTube moved Friday to exit a consolidated class action against them and Disney alleging they allowed advertisers to illegally collect minors' personal information, saying the entire case is based on the Federal Trade Commission's action against Disney that "made no accusations" against their companies "and for good reason."

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Ayahuasca Church Urges Judge To Halt DEA Enforcement

By Jonathan Capriel

A Florida church that has used a federally prohibited psychedelic as part of its rites is asking a federal court to block raids on it after filing suit against the government in February over claims that law enforcement ransacked its Orlando-area sanctuary and detained its members in violation of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.

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Splenda Loses Bid To End Scientist's Libel Counterclaim

By Hayley Fowler

The maker of Splenda lost its bid for a pretrial win on a scientist's counterclaims for libel after a North Carolina federal judge on Monday ruled they weren't filed too late because the counterclaims are directly linked to the company's defamation suit challenging her statements linking Splenda to cancer-causing chemicals.

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NHTSA Closes Probe Into Tesla Remote Driving Feature

By Emily Field

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on Monday said it was closing an investigation into a Tesla feature that allows users to remotely move their car with a phone app, finding that all the reported crashes involved minor property damage with no injuries.

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Framing Biz Sues Machine Co. Over Faulty $15M Joint System

By Mike Curley

An Arizona-based company that makes framing materials for prefabricated homes is suing a German machinery maker, saying it failed to deliver a working $15 million finger joint fabrication system despite 18 months of working on it post-installation.

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Widow Sues UPS, Boeing, GE Over Fiery Ky. Plane Crash

By Mike Curley

A woman is suing UPS, General Electric, Boeing and an aircraft maintenance company, saying they owned, built or maintained a cargo plane before its November crash into an industrial complex, which injured her and killed her husband.

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Interior Dept. Will Reunite Offshore Permitting, Safety Arms

By Keith Goldberg

The U.S. Department of the Interior plans to reunite its offshore energy permitting and offshore energy safety agencies, 15 years after they were split apart in the wake of the Deepwater Horizon disaster.

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Why MDLs Slow Down — And How To Speed Them Up

Multidistrict litigation has become central to mass tort practice, but as MDLs grow in size and complexity, so do delays and costs — so tools like the new federal rule governing MDLs, targeted use of special masters and strategically deployed Lone Pine orders are more essential than ever, say attorneys at Ice Miller.

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How Justices' GEO Ruling Resets Gov't Contractor Litigation

The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent GEO Group v. Menocal decision, holding that government contractors cannot immediately exit cases via interlocutory appeals, may increase litigation costs, strengthen plaintiffs' leverage in settlement negotiations and dampen the government's ability to attract bids on high-risk or sensitive projects, say attorneys at Wiley.

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What A Court Doc Audit Reveals About Erroneous Filings

My audit of 1,522 court documents from last month found that over 95% contained at least one verifiable error, with fewer than 1% showing clear indicators of artificial intelligence use — highlighting above all else that lawyers may want to focus most on strengthening their review processes, says Elliott Ash at ETH Zurich.

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Pregnant DLA Piper Atty Fired For 'Sloppy' Work, Jury Told

By Pete Brush

A former trademark associate told a Manhattan federal jury Monday that DLA Piper "blindsided" her with termination after she announced she was pregnant, but the BigLaw firm countered that she was fired for "repeated mistakes" and other on-the-job shortcomings.

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Files Of 10 Jones Day Clients Breached In Cyberattack

By Aebra Coe

Jones Day is the latest law firm to be hit by a cyberattack, the firm confirmed Monday, revealing that an unauthorized party accessed files of 10 clients.

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Troutman, Ex-Associate Reach Deal In Discrimination Suit

By Emily Sawicki

A former Troutman Pepper Locke LLP associate asked a D.C. federal court Monday to pause a suit as the two sides have reported they had reached a settlement agreement over her discrimination claims against the firm, sidestepping a trial set to begin next month.

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Ex-EEOC Leaders Back BigLaw Firms In Trump EO Appeal

By Patrick Hoff

A group of former U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission officials are backing four BigLaw firms in the Trump administration's consolidated D.C. Circuit appeal seeking to revive executive orders targeting the firms, arguing the president's directives contradict how Congress meant for the EEOC to operate.

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Jackson Walker, Sorrento CEO Hit With RICO Suit Over Ch. 11

By Emlyn Cameron

More than a dozen Sorrento Therapeutics shareholders sued law firm Jackson Walker LLP and the defunct biopharmaceutical company's ex-CEO for over $100 million, accusing them of conspiring to launch an unnecessary bankruptcy in an irrelevant jurisdiction.

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Analysis

Can State Courts Tame The 'Wild West' Of Judicial Security?

By Cara Bayles

As threats against local judges continue to ramp up, protection and incident tracking varies not only from state to state but county to county, making it difficult to draw the national judicial security landscape. Now, lawmakers are looking to use federal resources to even out disparities.

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LSC Seeks $2.14B As White House Pushes To Slash Funding

By Marco Poggio

The Legal Services Corp. is asking Congress for $2.14 billion in fiscal year 2027 to fund civil legal services for low-income Americans who cannot afford an attorney.

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Trump Orders Could Chill US Arbitration, Group Warns

By Caroline Simson

The College of Commercial Arbitrators has urged the D.C. Circuit to reject the Trump administration's consolidated D.C. Circuit appeal seeking to revive executive orders yanking the security clearances of four BigLaw firms, arguing a contrary ruling would "imperil" arbitration in the U.S.

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Ex-Wis. Judge Loses Bid To Shake ICE Obstruction Conviction

By Lauren Berg

A federal judge Monday refused to overturn a former Wisconsin state judge's conviction for helping shield a defendant in her courtroom from arrest by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, rejecting her contention that, because ICE had no authority to make the arrest in the courthouse, there was no obstruction.

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Ill. Justices Want MAGA Op-Ed Author Judge's Claims Axed

By Emily Sawicki

Illinois Supreme Court justices have asked a Chicago federal judge to throw out constitutional claims filed by a retired Illinois state trial court judge alleging he was wrongfully terminated over protected speech in a political opinion column, with the justices arguing the federal court should not interfere with a state court matter.

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Justices Clear Path For DOJ To Dismiss Bannon's Conviction

By Cara Salvatore

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday vacated an appeals court's order upholding Steve Bannon's conviction over his nonresponse to a congressional subpoena investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection, clearing the way for the Justice Department to dismiss his indictment.

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Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court

By Jarek Rutz

The Delaware Chancery Court's docket this past week featured a mix of high-profile corporate disputes, insider trading allegations, contract fights and significant rulings shaping fiduciary duty and deal litigation.

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