Analysis

Can Texas, Nevada Replicate Delaware's Corporate Edge?

By Jarek Rutz

Texas and Nevada have spent the past few years rewriting corporate laws and building specialized business courts in an effort to challenge Delaware's long-standing dominance as the preferred home for U.S. companies. While a handful of high-profile corporations have already made the move, corporate law experts say creating another Delaware will require far more than new statutes and judges.

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9th Circ. Says DOJ Subpoenas Can Support Trump Agenda

By Hailey Konnath

A split Ninth Circuit panel on Friday held that President Donald Trump has the authority to direct the U.S. Department of Justice to issue politically motivated subpoenas that align with his broader policy goals, reversing a lower court's ruling quashing a subpoena issued to a gender-affirming medical care provider.

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Trump Asks Justices To Raze Block On Ballroom Construction

By Katie Buehler

President Donald Trump asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday to lift a ban on construction of a new White House ballroom, arguing a federal judge who ordered the work to stop overstepped his authority by vetoing national security officials' determinations that the ballroom is "vitally required." 

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White House, BigLaw Atty Picked For Tenn. Federal Bench

By Jack Karp

President Donald Trump announced Friday that he is nominating a White House attorney and former BigLaw associate to serve as a Tennessee federal judge.

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6th Circ. Says Cops Forcing Man To Pee In His Yard Unlawful

By Susan Smiley

A Michigan man who was forced to urinate on his front lawn because police, who were conducting a search of his home, would not allow him to use his own bathroom had his Fourth Amendment rights violated, a Sixth Circuit panel determined on Thursday.

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Mich. Panel Keeps District Judge Off Ballot Over False Filing

By Melanie Dorsey

A western Michigan district judge will remain off the November ballot after a state appeals court ruled that her affidavit of identity contained a false statement about unpaid campaign finance fees, requiring state election officials to reject her candidacy. 

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Trump-Backed Crypto Co. Gets Initial OK For Bank Charter

By Jon Hill

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency on Friday preliminarily approved a closely watched charter application from World Liberty Financial, moving the Trump family-tied cryptocurrency venture closer to launching a federally regulated trust bank.

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SEC Staff Halt Responses To Proxy Proposal Exclusion Bids

By Sarah Jarvis

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Friday made permanent a previous decision to step back from responding to companies' bids to exclude shareholder proposals from their ballots, following comments from the agency's chairman that the most recent proxy season saw none of the "dire predictions" some had forecast after the retreat.

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IRS Expands Carbon Capture Tax Credit's Safe Harbor

By Kat Lucero

A safe harbor for the carbon sequestration tax credit's reporting requirements will apply to a method that uses carbon oxide used as a tertiary injectant in qualified oil and gas extraction projects, the IRS announced Friday, expanding earlier guidance for the incentive.

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Colo. Resident Says Energy Panel Dodged Open Meeting Law

By Zach Dupont

An advisory group created by the Colorado Energy and Carbon Management Commission is barring the public from attending meetings and refusing to turn over public records, a Denver resident has claimed in Colorado state court.

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AstraZeneca Joins States Aiming To Block Ill. 340B Drug Law

By Bonnie Eslinger

AstraZeneca on Friday joined some other large pharmaceutical companies in urging an Illinois federal court to block a new state law that prohibits drugmakers from restricting the types or number of pharmacies healthcare providers can contract with to provide medications under a federal discount drug program.

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Idaho Abortion Ban Needs Health Exceptions, Judge Finds

By Gianna Ferrarin

An Idaho federal judge barred the state from criminalizing abortions in cases where continuing a pregnancy puts a patient at risk of lasting harm or death via self-harm, finding that the 14th Amendment establishes a fundamental right to health- and life-preserving abortion care.

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Feds Seek To Undo ADA Win In Fla. After DOJ Guidance Shift

By Carolina Bolado

The federal government asked the Eleventh Circuit on Thursday to vacate a recent ruling upholding an injunction that found Florida's institutionalization of children with complex medical conditions violated the Americans with Disabilities Act, in light of a change in directives from the U.S. Department of Justice.

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Stewart Taking Over IP Advocacy Group After Leaving USPTO

By Dani Kass

Former Deputy U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Director Coke Morgan Stewart has been named CEO and president of the Council for Innovation Promotion, the advocacy group announced Monday.

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Brief

USPTO Wants Input On Southwest Outreach Office

By Adam Lidgett

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office is looking to increase its community outreach in the Southwest and is asking for public input on where it should set up offices in the six-state region.

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Charter-Cox Tie-Up Gets Last Needed OK With Calif. Approval

By Christopher Cole

California regulators have approved the $34.5 billion merger of major cable providers Charter and Cox, providing the last needed regulatory green light but also imposing conditions meant to help consumers.

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Mexico OK Leaves AGs, WGA Last Paramount Deal Obstacle

By Bryan Koenig

Paramount Skydance Corp. celebrated Mexican antitrust approval Friday of its planned $110 billion purchase of Warner Bros. Discovery as the final government sign-off needed globally, leaving only the California federal court challenge from a group of attorneys general and the Writers Guild of America.

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10th Circ. Backs $5M Verdict In Fight Over Toll Lanes Contract

By Rachel Konieczny

The Tenth Circuit on Friday unanimously upheld a Denver federal jury's award of $5.25 million to construction design firm Aecom, wholly rejecting a contractor's request for a new trial in a contract dispute over a Colorado toll lanes project.

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Trump Aims To Rebuild US Maritime Industrial Base

By Madeline Lyskawa

President Donald Trump signed a memorandum aimed at addressing backlogs in U.S. Navy shipbuilding by directing the Pentagon to pursue direct investments in the U.S. maritime industrial base from foreign suppliers to boost competition. 

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Conn. Opposes Kalshi's Bid To Keep Running Pending Appeal

By Katryna Perera

Connecticut officials on Friday asked a federal judge to deny KalshiEX's bid to keep offering sports contracts as it mounts a "long-shot appeal" of an injunction, arguing there is no basis to restrain state regulators from enforcing state wagering law given the contracts' "clear illegality." 

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HUD Grant Conditions Void For Failing APA, Judge Rules

By Rae Ann Varona

A Rhode Island federal judge Friday vacated new conditions for U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development grants that nonprofit grantees said unlawfully targeted diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, among other things, saying the government failed to sufficiently explain why the conditions were needed.

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Analysis

Data Center Backlash Fogs Finance Picture For New Projects

By Keith Goldberg

How is the backlash against data centers — from public protests in red towns and blue cities to moratoriums on large projects to primary wins for anti-data center candidates — affecting lenders' approach? Here, Law360 takes a close look.

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Analysis

4th Circ. Altria Decision Spotlights Risks From ERISA Docs

By Kellie Mejdrich

A recent Fourth Circuit decision in a retirement plan dispute between tobacco giant Altria and an ex-worker underscored how service provider contracts can introduce snags in litigation, with benefits attorneys warning that employers may want to review documents with the potential for disclosure in mind.

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Chicago Deputy Corp. Counsel Accused Of Disability Bias

By Lauraann Wood

A deputy corporation counsel in Chicago's legal department has been hit with discrimination claims for allegedly treating a supervising attorney's physical disability and workplace accommodation with "open hostility" before summoning her to a baseless disciplinary meeting in retaliation against her internal complaint.

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Atty Hits Conn. Prosecutors With Pregnancy Bias Suit

By Brian Steele

An attorney who was terminated from the Connecticut prosecutors' office that responds to habeas petitions has brought a federal lawsuit alleging she was isolated, punished, overwhelmed with assignments and then let go because she took maternity leave.

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Law Student's Race Bias Claim Survives In Kirk Discipline Suit

By Matt Perez

A Texas federal judge on Friday allowed a former Texas Tech law student to proceed with her claim that the university board was discriminatory in disciplining her over comments she made allegedly celebrating the death of Charlie Kirk because non-Black students who spoke about the assassination weren't investigated.

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NY AG Says 2nd Circ. Ruling Doesn't Back Pricing Law Case

By Matthew Perlman

The New York Attorney General's Office has pushed back after RealPage Inc. told a New York federal court that a recent Second Circuit ruling supports the company's challenge to a state law prohibiting landlords from using software to share information and set residential rental rates.

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Data Privacy Practices Put Wash. Residents At Risk, AG Says

By Ben Adlin

Washington state should require data brokers to register with regulators and follow standard practices to safeguard personal information, the state's attorney general said Friday in what he described as a first-of-its-kind report examining how data privacy practices affect Washingtonians.

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CFPB Will No Longer Post Narratives In Complaint Database

By Jon Hill

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said Friday it will stop publishing consumer complaint narratives and data visualizations, a move consumer advocates warn will limit public visibility into patterns of alleged financial company misconduct.

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Conn. City Settles Wrongful Conviction Suits For $30.5M

By Brian Steele

After the mayor of New Haven, Connecticut, publicly announced a $30.5 million settlement, a federal judge dismissed two lawsuits accusing the city of civil rights violations tied to two wrongful murder convictions, for which each plaintiff spent nearly 20 years in prison.

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Mich. Panel Gives Dog New Chance In Euthanasia Fight

By Melanie Dorsey

A Michigan appeals court has overturned an order requiring a Port Huron woman to euthanize her dog after he bit off a guest's nose, ruling that a lower court applied the wrong standard when deciding whether the guest provoked the dog by putting her face inches away from the dog's face.

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NRA Sues Denver Over Gun Carry Ban For Visitors

By MJ Koo

The National Rifle Association and two out-of-state gun owners have sued Denver and Colorado state officials in federal court, arguing that the combined effect of the state's residency requirement for concealed carry permits and the city's ban on open carry leaves nonresident visitors with no lawful means to carry a handgun for self-defense.

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Apple Says No To Rethink Of Fed Phone Buying Subpoena

By Nadia Dreid

Apple does not think a special master should reconsider a mandate giving the tech titan a peek into how the Pentagon, CIA, State Department, and other federal agencies buy smartphones as part of a suit the federal government has filed accusing Apple of monopolization.

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Fed. Circ. Overrules Precedent On Veteran Hiring Protections

By Madeline Lyskawa

The Federal Circuit on Friday revived a disabled veteran's challenge to the U.S. Navy's handling of his promotion application, which the agency rejected after mistakenly finding he didn't submit certain documents, and then reviewed only after giving the job to someone else. 

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Analysis

4 Questions On Excess Manufacturing Capacity Tariffs

By Dylan Moroses

Stakeholders anticipate new tariffs on key trading partners stemming from allegations that excess manufacturing capacity is causing harm to U.S. businesses, but several open questions remain about the extent to which duty burdens will increase and whether countries will retaliate in response. Here, Law360 considers four such questions.

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Trump Hits Imported Drones With Up To 100% Tariffs

By Jack McLoone

Large drones and those with certain capabilities "that are particularly sensitive for national security purposes" and their components will face a 100% ad valorem tariff starting in September, President Donald Trump ordered, with smaller drones and other components facing a 25% tariff.

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UN Seeks Input On Draft Tax Convention And Protocols

By Kevin Pinner

The United Nations is seeking input on a draft version of its proposed framework international tax convention, a protocol on taxing cross-border services and conventions on dispute prevention and resolution, the body's Department of Economic and Social Affairs said Friday.

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Colo. Taxpayer Says $490M Court Project Violates TABOR

By Sanjay Talwani

A Colorado county's decision to build a half-billion-dollar judicial center required voter approval under the state's Taxpayer's Bill of Rights, a county council member said in a suit, attempting to halt the project.

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Chicago Auto Lease Tax Is Unconstitutional, Suit Says

By Jaqueline McCool

A Chicago tax applied monthly to leased vehicles violates the state's constitution, a taxpayer told a state court, arguing the levy flouts the uniformity clause.

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1st Circ. Becomes 7th To Reject Trump's No-Bond Policy

By Britain Eakin

The First Circuit became the seventh appellate court to reject the Trump administration's argument that noncitizens arrested in the interior U.S. can be detained without bond, ruling that immigrants who entered the country unlawfully years earlier can seek release on bond.

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In First, 2nd Circ. Allows DNA Warrant Without Match Sample

By Parker Quinlan

The Second Circuit has ruled that a man cannot suppress a court-ordered DNA sample in his murder case even though police had not identified a viable comparison sample from the crime scene, becoming the first federal circuit court to address the question.

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9th Circ. Denies Ex-Cop's Asylum Bid, But Calls For Better Test

By Tom Lotshaw

A Ninth Circuit panel affirmed the denial of asylum for a former El Salvador police officer targeted by the MS-13 gang, but urged the full court to revisit precedent that directed it to only consider mistreatment incurred after the man left the force.

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Mass. Judge Lets Feds Strip TPS Protections For Somalis

By Carolyn Muyskens

A Massachusetts federal judge on Friday allowed the Trump administration to end temporary protected status for Somali nationals living in the U.S., the latest judge to grapple with the effect of a recent high court decision on challenges to the curtailment of the TPS program. 

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ICE Says FOIA Redactions Protect Ankle Monitor Protocols

By Carla Baranauckas

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has urged a North Carolina federal judge to end a lawsuit brought by two immigrant legal groups seeking records about a reported directive requiring ankle monitoring, arguing the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has produced every nonexempt document and properly applied redactions.

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Tribe's Bid To Halt Ariz. Border Wall Construction Denied

By Jared Foretek

A D.C. federal judge said the Tohono O'odham Nation was unlikely to succeed in blocking construction of a border wall near its Arizona reservation, finding Friday that a century-old federal reservation likely already covers the contested strip of land and denying the tribe's request for a preliminary injunction.

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Calif. Tribe Failed To Show Harm Over 40-Acre Land Transfer

By Crystal Owens

A California tribe can't block the U.S. Department of the Interior from transferring 40 acres into trust for a fellow tribe's casino project, a D.C. district court judge has determined, saying action on the contested land isn't imminent and there's no demonstrable irreparable harm.

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Dem Says FCC Ignores Affordability In New Broadband Report

By Christopher Cole

In the latest turn in a yearslong debate at the Federal Communications Commission, the agency's lone Democrat on Friday criticized a report spearheaded by the GOP majority touting robust broadband deployment, saying the Republicans gave short shrift to affordability issues.

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Court Clears RI Pot Licensing After Law Drops Residency Rule

By Sam Reisman

A Rhode Island federal judge on Friday dissolved a court order blocking the state's social equity and adult-use cannabis licensing program, saying recent changes to state law mooted the reasons for enjoining the program in the first place.

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Hemp Cos. Ask 6th Circ. To Keep Ohio Law On Pause

By Aneeta Mathur-Ashton

Hemp manufacturers and sellers have asked the Sixth Circuit to uphold a lower court's ruling that paused the enforcement of an Ohio law that reclassified their products as marijuana.

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Midyear Trends, Takeaways As Securities Class Actions Surge

High numbers of securities class actions through June suggest filings will stay elevated, with factors like changing enforcement attitudes, media scrutiny and the proliferation of potential defendants serving as both cause and effect in increased litigation involving AI-related disclosures, health and tech companies, and foreign issuers, say attorneys at Alston & Bird.

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Fashion Greenwashing Risk Goes From Reputational To Legal

Fashion brands now face greenwashing risks that extend beyond reputational damage, with California's extended producer responsibility law taking effect soon, and regulatory enforcement and class actions increasing around terms like "sustainable" and "carbon-neutral" — so companies must ensure their marketing is backed up by evidence, says Benjamin Thompson at Thompson LLP.

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How To Approach Rising Foreign Direct Investment Hurdles

Attorneys advising on cross-border transactions need to take a practical but risk-aware approach as U.S.-led deals are encountering longer and more intrusive foreign direct investment reviews, say attorneys at Wilson Sonsini.

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Mapping A Compliance Framework For AI Chatbot Operators

The Federal Trade Commission's recent artificial intelligence guidance, together with emerging state AI chatbot laws, wiretapping statutes and telecommunications requirements, carry significant implications for consumer-facing chatbot and customer service tool operators that require a layered disclosure framework addressing multiple regulatory touchpoints, say attorneys at Winston Taylor.

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Bank Charter Denial Offers Road Map For Stablecoin Issuers

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency's recent denial of Wise's bank charter application signals that stablecoin issuers should expect rigorous scrutiny of anti-money laundering controls, governance, management expertise and affiliate compliance history when applying for federal approval, say attorneys at Katten.

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Other Transaction Authority May Change Military Construction

Early use of the Pentagon’s expanded authority to use other transaction agreements for defense construction projects suggests it may become a consequential change that draws new entrants into the marketplace, so participants should be cognizant of how it differs from the familiar Federal Acquisition Regulation model, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.

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Are your summer associates prepared for a legal career?

How does your firm shape the summer associate experience and mentor new talent? Invite your summer associates to share their perspectives in this year’s Law360 Pulse Summer Associates Survey.

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Immigration Judge Says Anti-DEI Bias Led To Her Ousting

By Elaine Briseño

A Black immigration judge has sued the U.S. Department of Justice for discrimination, alleging her firing was related to anti-DEI sentiments at the agency that overwhelmingly targeted older, nonwhite women.

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Holland & Knight Loses Bid To Escape GWG Fraud Suit

By Emily Sawicki

Holland & Knight LLP must face adversary claims in Houston bankruptcy court after a Texas federal judge found the trustee for bankrupt life insurance bond seller GWG Holdings Inc. had made a plausible case that the firm and one of its attorneys engaged in a racketeering conspiracy with its ex-chairman.

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Roundup

UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London

By Megan Norcott

The past week in London has seen newly signed Real Madrid footballer Yan Diomandé sued over access to his image rights, Nigel Farage and Reform UK deputy leader Richard Tice accuse the NCA of leaking confidential financial information, and a right-wing American journalist hit The Guardian with a libel claim. 

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GC Cheat Sheet: The Hottest Corporate News Of The Week

By Sue Reisinger

Boeing has won dismissal of a Delaware suit brought by pension funds accusing its board of putting profits before safety. And in-house counsel helped pick Latham & Watkins as the leader on an annual list of client service all-stars.

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Law360's Legal Lions Of The Week

By Kevin Penton

Baker Botts LLP and King & Spalding LLP lead this week's edition of Law360 Legal Lions, after the Ninth Circuit enforced an over $2 billion arbitral award issued to a satellite communications company, ruling that the legal concept of an optimal venue for a case doesn't apply in matters concerning the enforcement of international arbitral awards.

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In Case You Missed It: Hottest Firms And Stories On Law360

For those who missed out, here's a look back at the law firms, stories and expert analyses that generated the most buzz on Law360 last week.

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