Litigation Spending To Keep Climbing While Biz Risks Mount

By Ryan Boysen

Big companies will increase their litigation budgets yet again next year, as navigating legal risk is now an essential element of achieving strategic business goals, according to a new report.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

NM Offers Infernal Literature Lesson In Meta Trial Closing

By Cara Salvatore

New Mexico wrapped its data privacy trial against Meta on Wednesday by likening the social media company's alleged habitual lying about data protection to the worst of sins in Dante's "Inferno," asking the jury, "Does lying matter?"

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Motley Rice Partner Tapped For Opioid Case Co-Lead Counsel

By Emily Field

The Ohio federal judge overseeing multidistrict opioid litigation appointed on Wednesday Donald Migliori, a managing partner at Motley Rice LLC, as co-lead counsel in the wake of the death of the firm's co-founder Joe Rice, who had served in the position for the past eight years.

2 documents attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Google MDL Coverage Suit Belongs In Calif., Del. Judge Rules

By Dorothy Atkins

A Delaware state judge has stayed a lawsuit by American International Group subsidiaries seeking a declaration that they're not liable for covering Google's defense costs tied to social-media addiction multidistrict litigation, finding the parties must litigate in California where Google filed its own coverage suit weeks before the insurers.

Opinion attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Roblox, Discord Seek To Compel Arbitration In Abuse MDL

By Craig Clough

Roblox and Discord urged a California federal judge Tuesday to send bellwether claims brought by children in a sexual exploitation multidistrict litigation to arbitration, arguing that a federal law protecting sexual assault plaintiffs from forced arbitration does not apply to allegations that online platforms enabled abuse by third-party users.

2 documents attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Publix Sued Over Woman's Death From Eating Blueberries

By Y. Peter Kang

A Florida man whose wife died after allegedly consuming contaminated frozen blueberries has sued Publix Super Markets Inc. and a food distributor, alleging the companies sold a dangerous food product that caused a fatal infection.

Complaint attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Nestle Asks Justices To Review 'Sustainable' Cocoa Classes

By Lauren Berg

Nestle asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review a divided Ninth Circuit decision upholding class certification of millions of consumers who bought chocolate labeled "sustainably sourced" in a lawsuit claiming the chocolate is produced through child labor and deforestation.

3 documents attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Colo. Smoke Shop Chain To Pay $152K Over Kratom Potency

By Jonathan Capriel

The Colorado Attorney General's Office reached a $152,000 settlement with two smoke shop owners, ending claims their retail chain sold kratom products exceeding the state's legal potency limit and violated labeling rules.

Settlement attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Fla. Court Says Tesla Shouldn't Transfer Fatal Crash Suit

By David Minsky

A Florida state judge on Wednesday issued a report recommending denial of Tesla Inc.'s bid to transfer a fatal crash lawsuit from Broward County to Miami-Dade County, saying it's too late to move the case after nearly five years of litigation. 

Report attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Judge Rejects $2.5M Fees For Opt-Out Attys In Chevy Case

By Mike Curley

A Michigan federal judge has rejected a motion from LG Chem and its affiliates for $2.5 million in fees for attorneys who had urged their clients to opt out of a $150 million settlement resolving allegations that Chevrolet Bolt batteries were defective, then to opt back in, saying the attorneys did nothing to materially improve or work toward the deal.

Order attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Blue Shield Still Facing Therapy 'Ghost Network' Suit

By Bonnie Eslinger

A California federal judge ruled Wednesday that Blue Shield of California must face the majority of claims brought in subscribers' proposed class action alleging the insurer maintained a "ghost network" of mental-health providers that didn't exist or accept new patients, saying the suit adequately claims contract terms were not met.

Order attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Oura Rings Lack Tech To Accurately Track Sleep, Suit Says

By Gina Kim

Oura Inc. is falsely marketing its wearable Oura Rings as able to accurately track sleep stages, despite the rings only making predictions based on indirect signals that studies have found to be severely inaccurate, alleges a proposed class action filed Tuesday in California federal court.

Complaint attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Zillow Starts Renewed Bid To Exit Home Loan Kickbacks Suit

By Isaac Monterose

Zillow Group Inc. and its subsidiaries have filed a new dismissal bid in Washington federal court against a consolidated third amended class action complaint that accuses Zillow of running an illegal kickbacks scheme that provides affiliated brokers with business leads if they push homebuyers to use the company's allegedly overpriced Zillow Home Loans program.

Motion attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Boeing Pushes For Pretrial Win In Norwegian Air 737 Max Suit

By Hailey Konnath

The Boeing Co. has asked a Washington federal judge to hand it a win in Norwegian Air subsidiaries' suit over their purchase of 737 Max airplanes, arguing there is no evidence supporting the subsidiaries' claims that Boeing misled them as to the safety and reliability of the aircraft.

Motion attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

NY's Landmark Climate Change Superfund Blocked Again

By Hailey Konnath

Another New York federal judge on Wednesday agreed with the federal government that the Empire State overstepped its authority with its Climate Change Superfund Act, the second such ruling on the state's landmark attempt to collect payments from fossil fuel companies to fund climate change mitigation efforts.

Opinion attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Suit Over Mich. Teen's Campground Drowning Reinstated

By Jonathan Capriel

A Michigan recreational campground must face claims it breached a duty owed to a 15-year-old who drowned in a human-made swimming pond, a state appeals court has ruled, saying a jury must decide if the campground failed to warn swimmers of the deep, murky and dangerous conditions of the water.

Opinion attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

And Now A Word From The Panel: Accessing Key MDL Data

As the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation convenes for its September hearing session, it is useful to examine the treasure trove of historical and statistical information about MDLs past and present that the panel makes available to the public on its own website, says Alan Rothman at Sidley Austin.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Opinion

Calif. Bill Goes Too Far In Trying To Regulate Attorney AI Use

California’s first-in-the-nation act regulating how attorneys and arbitrators use generative artificial intelligence will likely soon become law, but read broadly, the provisions may dissuade lawyers from employing AI at all, thereby depriving them of key work tools, says Joshua Wurtzel at Schlam Stone.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Seyfarth Failed To Guard Client Data From Hack, Suit Alleges

By Lauren Berg

Seyfarth Shaw LLP on Thursday was hit with a proposed class action in Illinois federal court accusing it of failing to protect its current and former clients' personal information after the Chicago-based law firm this month disclosed a recent data breach.

Complaint attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

PACER Experiences Outages Of Some Court Dockets

By Matt Perez

PACER, the online public repository of federal court documents, experienced technical errors on Wednesday and Thursday preventing some users from accessing certain court dockets.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

New Eastern La. Judge's 5th Circ. Bid Goes To Full Senate

By Courtney Bublé

U.S. District Judge Anna St. John of the Eastern District of Louisiana, who was confirmed to her current post in March, is one step closer to being elevated to the federal appeals bench.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Fla. Judge To Get Reprimand For Remark On Shooting Attys

By Madison Arnold

The Florida Supreme Court on Thursday ordered a public reprimand of a state district court judge for "intemperate and caustic" comments about shooting attorneys during a hearing.

Opinion attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Congressional Probes Raise Legal, 'Reputational' Risks

By Phillip Bantz

An array of companies and executives may face investigations over their dealings with the Trump administration if Democrats take control of Congress, raising the possibility that some may refuse to comply. But experts say holding out hope for a mass pardon or expecting the Justice Department not to pursue contempt charges is a risky bet.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Analysis

5 Circuit Splits To Watch At The High Court

By Katie Buehler

The U.S. Supreme Court has been deciding fewer and fewer cases over the past three decades, with its caseload reaching a historic low just last term. While attorneys believe several factors have contributed to that trend, they say one of the most consequential is the court's apparent declining interest in resolving circuit splits. 

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Trump's Antitrust Pick Advances Amid Independence Worries

By Courtney Bublé

President Donald Trump's pick to lead the antitrust division at the U.S. Department of Justice advanced to the Senate floor on Thursday, despite Democratic concerns about agency independence.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Sen. Hyde-Smith's Opponent Seeks Blue-Slip Transparency

By Courtney Bublé

Four years ago, Scott Colom — the son of the first African American elected to the chancery bench in her region of Mississippi — was nominated for a federal judgeship. Now he's running for Senate against the senator who blocked his confirmation.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Ed. Dept. Committee Sidesteps ABA Accreditation Issue

By Ryan Boysen

A key U.S. Department of Education committee on Thursday declined to weigh in on whether an American Bar Association council should remain a federally recognized accreditor of law schools, a day after the panel deadlocked on different proposals over the hot-button issue.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »