Analysis

Midterm Dem Wins To Scramble Lit Funding Legislative Efforts

By Ryan Boysen

Litigation funders can rest easy, for now, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce will need to rethink its approach after last night's midterm elections saw Democrats rout Republicans, scrambling a yearslong effort for federal regulation of litigation finance that's so far relied on Republicans.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Boeing Blowout Plaintiffs Can't Restore Punitive Damages Ask

By Rachel Riley

A Washington federal judge said Wednesday that he won't revisit a decision nixing a mother and son's bid for punitive damages in their negligence lawsuit against Boeing and supplier Spirit AeroSystems over a 737 Max door plug blowout on an Alaska Airlines flight.

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

Delta Can't Toss Flyers' Windowless 'Window' Seat Fee Suit

By Lauren Berg

Delta Air Lines Inc. cannot shutter a proposed breach of contract class action brought by flyers who accuse it of charging premium fees for windowless seats that are misleadingly advertised as having windows, a New York federal judge ruled Wednesday, saying their claims are not preempted by federal law.

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

Coca-Cola Sued Over Minute Maid 'Natural Flavors' Claim

By Rae Ann Varona

The Coca-Cola Co. was accused Wednesday in Illinois federal court of falsely marketing its Minute Maid Fruit Punch as containing only natural flavors, with a consumer alleging in the putative class action that the beverage actually gets its tartness from a "synthetic, non-natural flavoring ingredient."

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

Humm Kombucha Hit With Suit Over 'Zero Sugar' Labels

By Jonathan Capriel

A maker of probiotic kombucha products faces a proposed class action claiming its "zero-sugar" drinks are deceptively marketed and actually contain a substance that federal food regulators have "repeatedly" called a sugar, according to a complaint filed in California federal court.

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

Pharmacy Worker Says Dosage Machine Cut Off Fingertip

By Jonathan Capriel

A pharmacy worker suffered a "traumatic" finger amputation when a machine that dispenses liquid medication caught her index finger and ripped part of it off, according to a lawsuit in Pennsylvania state court that accuses medical device manufacturer Precision Products Group Inc. of defective design.

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

7th Circ. Probes Milwaukee Tool's Forced-Labor Liability

By Celeste Bott

Seventh Circuit judges grappled Wednesday with whether a federal anti-trafficking law allows a former Chinese prisoner to sue Milwaukee Tool over allegations it sold gloves made with forced prison labor in China, questioning the international consequences of allowing private lawsuits over foreign conduct and probing whether the company's alleged profits from that labor in the United States are sufficient to keep the case alive.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Analysis

Attys Consider Corporate Implications Of Blue Texas

By Spencer Brewer

Texas attorneys have already started weighing new strategies in the wake of Texas' historic blue shift, led by a new attorney general and a new governor who have pledged to bring more industry regulation and consumer protections to the Lone Star State.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Brief

Williams-Sonoma Drops Quince False Ad Suit

By Lauren Berg

Williams-Sonoma Inc. told a California federal judge it was dropping its lawsuit accusing online retailer Quince of trying to dupe consumers into believing its goods are the same as Williams-Sonoma's products at discounted prices.

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

Hemp Vape Maker Ditches Most Claims In THC Content Suit

By Mike Curley

A Texas federal judge has dismissed most of the claims from a smoke shop and its owners alleging Delta Munchies LLC misrepresented the THC content of its vape products, leaving only a breach of implied warranty claim to go forward.

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

Opinion

The Invisible AI Danger That May Undermine Legal Profession

A public database tracking cases involving hallucinations generated by artificial intelligence recently surpassed 2,200 entries, but the bigger risk underlying attorneys’ use of such tools is that they will slowly surrender their judgment to AI and lose analytical skills, says Massachusetts District Court Associate Justice Brian Palmucci.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Controversial DOJ Civil Rights Division Leader Steps Down

By Alison Knezevich

Harmeet K. Dhillon, a U.S. Department of Justice official who instituted dramatic changes as leader of the Civil Rights Division, has stepped down from her role.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Sullivan & Cromwell Brings On Weil Capital Markets Leader

By Isaac Monterose

Sullivan & Cromwell LLP has hired the co-leader of Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP's capital markets team for a capital markets partner role in its New York City office, the firm announced Thursday.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Analysis

Racing Against Whistleblowers Could Cost Companies

By Phillip Bantz

The U.S. Department of Justice's new cash rewards program for tips on criminal fraud threatens to ramp up the pressure on companies to hurry internal investigations and quickly report suspected misconduct to the government before whistleblowers do, which could backfire in some cases, according to experts.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Judge Albright's Do's And Don'ts For Patent Trials

By Dani Kass

Two months after former ​U.S. District Judge Alan Albright returned to private practice, he regaled a room of attorneys at the University of Texas School of Law on Thursday with lessons from his time on the bench.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Trump's Hush Money Conviction Examined By Wary NY Panel

By Frank G. Runyeon

A New York State appellate court Thursday quizzed attorneys for President Donald Trump and state prosecutors over his hush-money conviction, exploring defense counsel's claims that the district attorney trespassed into federal jurisdiction by charging election violations and trampled on presidential immunity in a case "infected with multiple fatal errors."

Read full article » | Save to favorites »