A California federal judge appeared skeptical Wednesday of Meta Platforms Inc.'s request for a summary judgment win over claims by state attorneys general in multidistrict social media addiction litigation, saying repeatedly that many disputes should be resolved at trial and panning some arguments by both sides as "a bunch of games."
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FRIDAY, APRIL 17, 2026 Law360 iOS App Law360 Android App Follow Law360 on Facebook Follow Law360 on LinkedIn Follow Law360 on Twitter

TOP NEWS

'A Bunch Of Games': MDL Judge Irked By Meta, AGs Sparring

By Dorothy Atkins

A California federal judge appeared skeptical Wednesday of Meta Platforms Inc.'s request for a summary judgment win over claims by state attorneys general in multidistrict social media addiction litigation, saying repeatedly that many disputes should be resolved at trial and panning some arguments by both sides as "a bunch of games."

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Roblox To Pay $12.5M, Boost Child Safety In Deal With Nev.

By Allison Grande

Roblox has agreed to implement enhanced safeguards for children who use the popular interactive gaming platform and pay $12.5 million to fund an online safety awareness campaign and other initiatives as part of what Nevada's attorney general on Wednesday called a first-of-its-kind agreement to resolve claims that the company failed to adequately protect its youngest users. 

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NC Passenger Tells Jury Of 'Disgusting' Uber Driver Assault

By Hayley Fowler

A North Carolina woman recounted for a federal jury on Wednesday how an Uber driver sexually assaulted her in 2019, rebuffing the ride-hailing giant's suggestion that the incident never occurred and describing how she felt "grossed out," "horrified" and "terrified."

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Jones Day DQ'd From Vanderbilt Case Over Pre-Ch. 11 Work

By Vince Sullivan

A New York bankruptcy judge disqualified law firm Jones Day from representing talc producer Vanderbilt Minerals in its Chapter 11 case Wednesday, saying the firm's prior work for the larger Vanderbilt corporate family raises questions about its disinterestedness.

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Texas Can't Revive Anti-ESG Law While Appeal Plays Out

By Sarah Jarvis

A Texas federal judge refused to pause an injunction pending appeal on a state law restricting state investments in businesses that aim to reduce their reliance on fossil fuels, finding the law's language clearly intends to disfavor groups with certain viewpoints and is unlikely to survive appeal.

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Consumer Cases Drive Class Action Spike, Report Says

By Y. Peter Kang

Federal class action filings spiked in 2025 after nearly a decade of relative stability, fueled by a surge in consumer protection lawsuits tied to data breaches, digital commerce and online accessibility claims, according to a new report from Lex Machina.

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FOOD & BEVERAGE

Brief

Poppi Soda Buyers Get Final OK For $8.9M False Ad Deal

By Jonathan Capriel

A California federal judge granted final approval to an $8.9 million settlement that resolves false advertising claims alleging the company behind the Poppi soda brand misleadingly touted its products as "prebiotics for a healthy gut."

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DRUGS & DEVICES

Hims & Hers Providers Can't Duck Suit Over Student's Suicide

By Ben Adlin

Medical providers for telehealth company Hims & Hers can't escape a wrongful death lawsuit from the family of a Washington State University freshman who died by suicide in 2023, according to a Washington state judge's order denying summary judgment motions from five individual defendants.

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AUTOMOTIVE

Honda Inks Deal To End Defective Fuel Pump Class Suit

By Mike Curley

A proposed class of vehicle owners is asking an Alabama federal court for preliminary approval of a settlement to end a six-year suit alleging American Honda Motor Co. Inc. sold vehicles with defective fuel pumps made by Denso International America Inc.

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CONSUMER GOODS

Don't Squeeze 'Mega' Charmin Cause It's A Trick, Suit Says

By Craig Clough

Charmin toilet paper rose to prominence off its classic "don't squeeze the Charmin" campaign, but a proposed class action filed in California state court Wednesday suggests a reason not to squeeze its "mega" sized product is because it is fooling customers through a comparison to a "phantom" product that doesn't exist.

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TECHNOLOGY

Computer Co. Hid Defective Hinges In Its Laptops, Suit Says

By Gina Kim

A California-based company manufactures laptops containing defective hinges that "prematurely and unexpectedly crack and fail" at their plastic mounting points only after just months of use, rendering them practically inoperable, according to a customer's proposed class action lodged in California federal court.

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TRANSPORTATION

737 Max Families Ask Full 5th Circ. To Weigh DOJ-Boeing Deal

By Linda Chiem

Families of 737 Max 8 crash victims have asked the full Fifth Circuit to review a panel's recent decision accepting the U.S. Department of Justice's refusal to criminally prosecute Boeing for allegedly conspiring to defraud safety regulators, saying it allows corporate defendants to game the courts through a "mootness" loophole.

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ENERGY

Judge Ices Calif. Climate Suit As Justices Mull Boulder Case

By Tom Lotshaw

A California state court judge has put on hold coordinated climate litigation that state and local governments have filed against oil and gas companies while the U.S. Supreme Court considers a similar case brought by the city and county of Boulder, Colorado.

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NY Appeals Panel Doubts NYC's Climate Suit Can Be Revived

By Frank G. Runyeon

New York state appeals judges voiced skepticism Wednesday of New York City's bid to revive its lawsuit against major energy companies for "greenwashing" their gasoline products, highlighting the lack of alleged false claims and questioning whether they were even misleading.

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SURVEYS

The 2026 Lawyer Satisfaction Survey: Where Do You Stand?

How is your work-life balance? Are you content with your compensation and opportunities for advancement at work? Take the 2026 Law360 Lawyer Satisfaction Survey and share your thoughts.

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EXPERT ANALYSIS

Microplastics On Water Contaminant List Could Spur Claims

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's proposal to include microplastics in its draft sixth Contaminant Candidate List under the Safe Drinking Water Act could influence consumer fraud claims and enforcement by state attorneys general, as well as claims against manufacturers from entities facing regulatory compliance costs, says Arie Feltman-Frank at Jenner & Block.

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'Made In America' EO May Not Survive Section 230

President Donald Trump's recent executive order to combat fraudulent "Made in America" claims in advertising directs the Federal Trade Commission to deem online marketplaces' failure to verify third-party origin claims as unlawful, but such a rule would likely run into Section 230's publisher immunity doctrine, say attorneys at Blank Rome.

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5 Key Questions Attys Should Ask About Statistical Analyses

Even attorneys without a background in statistics can effectively vet the general concepts of a statistical analysis by asking targeted questions and can thereby reinforce the credibility and relevance of expert testimony — or expose its weaknesses, say Katrina Schydlower and Christopher Cunio at Hunton and Kevin Cahill at FTI Consulting.

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LEGAL INDUSTRY

Meta, Uber Verdicts Top Product Liability Trials

By Emily Field

This year has brought major courtroom setbacks for tech platforms and app companies. Juries issued headline-making verdicts against Meta and Google over claims their platforms harm young users, while Uber lost its first federal bellwether trial over driver assaults and now faces a second sexual assault case.

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Analysis

Bondi's Contempt Defenses Are Strong, But Not Without Risk

By Phillip Bantz

Former U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi currently has some potentially powerful defenses against Congress' relatively limited abilities to force her to comply with a subpoena to be deposed under oath about the Epstein files, but her exposure to being held in criminal contempt could shift with the political winds, experts said.

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Calif. Lawyer Sues Over State Bar Investigations

By Andrea Keckley

A California trial lawyer claimed in a federal lawsuit filed Wednesday that he has been unfairly investigated by the state bar since 2019, alleging the office "illegally prioritizes revenue-generation over protection of the public."

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Analysis

AGs' Win Over Live Nation Leaves DOJ Watching From The Side

By Bryan Koenig

Live Nation Entertainment Inc.'s across-the-board trial rout by 34 state attorneys general underscores the ascendancy of state antitrust enforcers looking to fill perceived enforcement gaps left by the U.S. Department of Justice during President Donald Trump's second term.

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NJ US Atty's Office Turmoil Doesn't Nix Conviction, Judge Rules

By Carla Baranauckas

A federal judge on Thursday rejected a New Jersey criminal defendant's attempt to dismiss his conviction and disqualify the state's top federal prosecutor, holding that the appointment of the current U.S. attorney complies with federal law and that any earlier defects in leadership do not warrant dismissal.

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Judiciary Panel Loves Paralegal's Idea To Modernize Briefs

By Jeff Overley

An Arizona paralegal's unsolicited idea for overhauling a procedural rule governing the format of briefs found a surprisingly enthusiastic audience Thursday at a federal judiciary meeting, where prominent officials and attorneys voiced strong interest and agreed to explore the concept in earnest.

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Ramey Says Sanctions Violation Was 'Misunderstanding'

By Elliot Weld

William Ramey, an intellectual property attorney sanctioned in several federal jurisdictions, told a California federal judge Thursday that any violations of a previous sanctions order regarding his ability to practice law in the state were due to "good-faith misunderstanding of the scope of the court's order — not willful disregard."

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Judge Doubts Broad Shift In Immigration Hearing Access

By Jared Foretek

A D.C. federal judge appeared unconvinced Thursday by a human rights group's claim that the public is getting less access to immigration court hearings in Minnesota during the second Trump administration.

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Citizens Group Says 27 States Are Eyeing AI Chatbot Laws

By Joyce Hanson

Twenty-seven U.S. states are looking at passing laws to make artificial intelligence companies face liability claims in civil suits if they fail to protect consumers who interact with chatbots, while another three states have already enacted protections, according to a citizens group's new legislative tracker.

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Optimum Defends Antitrust Suit Against Apollo, BlackRock

By Alex Wittenberg

Apollo, Ares, BlackRock and other financial giants are colluding to block Optimum Communications Inc. from negotiating a debt refinancing to avert bankruptcy, acting as a "cartel" and locking Optimum out of credit markets, Optimum said in a brief opposing the investors' bid to dismiss its antitrust suit in New York.

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Sentencing Commission Votes To Enact Modest Reform Agenda

By Stewart Bishop

The U.S. Sentencing Commission on Thursday voted to enact multiple revisions to the federal sentencing guidelines, including the first inflationary adjustment in over a decade for calculating penalties for economic crimes, but declined to take action on a series of more transformational changes that were under consideration.

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LAW FIRMS IN TODAY'S NEWS

Anapol Weiss

Baker & Hostetler

Beasley Allen

Blank Rome

Blood Hurst

Boies Schiller

Bond Schoeneck

Bradley Arant

Brown Rudnick

Burns Charest

Bursor & Fisher

Butzel Long

Byrnes Keller

Caplin & Drysdale

Carella Byrne

Chaffin Luhana LLP

Clement & Murphy

Clifford Law Offices

Cooley LLP

Covington & Burling

Crowell & Moring

DTO Law

Davis Polk

Dhillon Law Group

DiCello Levitt

Emery Celli

Fain Anderson

Faruqi & Faruqi

Fierberg National Law Group

Friedman Kaplan

Gibson Dunn

Girard Sharp

Girardi & Keese

Gordon Rees

Gottlieb & Associates PLLC

Guerrero & Whittle

Gutride Safier

Hunton Andrews

Jackson Lewis PC

Jenner & Block

Jones Day

KJC Law Group

Kaplan Fox

Kellogg Hansen

Kesselman Brantly

Kirkland & Ellis

Kreindler & Kreindler

Lanier Law Firm

Maschoff Brennan

Mayer Brown

Maynard Nexsen

McGuireWoods

Migliaccio & Rathod

Milberg PLLC

Morgan Lewis

Nelson Mullins

O'Melveny & Myers

Paul Weiss

Pavone & Fonner

Peiffer Wolf

Perkins Coie

Podhurst Orseck

Ramey LLP

Schroeter Goldmark

Seeger Weiss

Stein Saks

Stinson LLP

Sullivan & Cromwell

Wand Law Firm

Waters Kraus

Williams Hart

Wilson Elser

Winston & Strawn

X Law Group

Yetter Coleman

COMPANIES IN TODAY'S NEWS

APC

Abbott Laboratories

Altice USA

Amazon.com Inc.

American Economic Liberties Project

American Psychological Association

Apple Inc.

BP PLC

BlackRock Inc.

Burke Inc.

ByteDance Ltd.

Chevron Corp.

ConocoPhillips

DENSO Corp.

Democracy Forward Foundation

Ethiopian Airlines Enterprise

Exxon Mobil Corp.

FTI Consulting Inc.

Google LLC

Grindr LLC

Here Media Inc.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co.

Hims & Hers Health Inc.

Honda Motor Co. Ltd.

Instagram Inc.

JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Lex Machina Inc.

LexisNexis Legal & Professional

Live Nation Entertainment Inc.

Major League Baseball Inc.

Meta Platforms Inc.

Nexstar Media Group Inc.

Oakland Athletics

Optimum

PacifiCorp

Public Citizen Inc.

R.T. Vanderbilt Holding Co. Inc.

RELX PLC

Renesas Electronics Corp.

Roblox Corp.

Shell PLC

Snap Inc.

State Bar of California

Tegna Inc.

The Advocates for Human Rights

The DIRECTV Group Inc.

TikTok Inc.

Uber Technologies Inc.

Vanderbilt Minerals LLC

Walmart Inc.

YouTube Inc.

eBay Inc.

GOVERNMENT AGENCIES IN TODAY'S NEWS

Bureau of Labor Statistics

California Attorney General's Office

California Department of Justice

California Supreme Court

City of New York

Executive Office for Immigration Review

Federal Trade Commission

Judicial Conference of the United States

Nevada Attorney General's Office

New Mexico Attorney General's Office

New York Supreme Court, New York County

Texas Attorney General's Office

Texas Legislature

U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of New Jersey

U.S. Census Bureau

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit

U.S. Department of Commerce

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

U.S. Department of Justice

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

U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia

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

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

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

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 Southern District of Mississippi

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

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

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

U.S. Senate

U.S. Sentencing Commission

U.S. Supreme Court

US Office of Management and Budget

United States Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of New York

United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama