Justices Order Redo In Immigration Judges' Free Speech Suit

By Katie Buehler

The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday reversed a Fourth Circuit order that had revived the immigration judges union's challenge to restrictions on their ability to speak publicly, finding the lower court abused its discretion by relying on arguments not raised by either party, and ordered further proceedings.

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6th Circ. Rejects Mich. Reproductive Rights Challenge

By Melanie Dorsey

Abortion opponents and several parents lack standing to sue top Michigan officials, the Sixth Circuit said Tuesday, affirming dismissal of a suit challenging the state's voter approved reproductive rights amendment.

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9th Circ. Backs Reinstating DEI Grants Nixed By Trump

By Bonnie Eslinger

The Ninth Circuit on Tuesday partially upheld a lower court's preliminary injunction and class certification orders in litigation from University of California researchers against President Donald Trump, backing the reinstatement of grants terminated due to presidential orders against diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives while reversing the injunction for those grants that were rescinded without explanation.

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Comey Case Delayed Due To 'Gravity' Of Charges, Discovery

By Phillip Bantz

A North Carolina federal judge on Tuesday granted former FBI Director James Comey's unopposed request to postpone his arraignment and trial on charges he threatened President Donald Trump with a social media post of seashells, finding that ongoing discovery and the "gravity of the charges" favor an extension and "outweigh" any interests in having a speedy trial.

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Trump Admin Wants Federal Workers To Sign NDAs, Citing Leaks

By Bonnie Eslinger

President Donald Trump's administration ​on Tuesday announced that it wishes to require federal employees with access to sensitive government information to sign a nondisclosure agreement, citing recent leaks related to immigration enforcement operations and the release of personal information belonging to approximately 4,500 Immigration and Customs Enforcement employees.

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Pirro, Blanche Fight DQ Bid In Attempted Assassination Case

By Christine DeRosa

U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro and Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche are fighting a bid from the California man accused of an attempted assassination of President Donald Trump at the White House Correspondents' Association dinner to disqualify them from handling the case.

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Brief

Justices To Consider Taking Judge Newman Case On June 11

By Emily Sawicki

The U.S. Supreme Court is set to decide whether to take up U.S. Circuit Judge Pauline Newman's petition seeking to overturn her suspension from the Federal Circuit on June 11, according to a notice posted Tuesday.

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SEC's Atkins Floats Loosening IPO Communication Rules

By Jessica Corso

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Paul Atkins said Tuesday evening that the agency is in the process of writing rules aimed at encouraging more companies to go public, including by potentially relaxing prohibitions on communication between prospective public companies and investors.

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BofA Borrowers Urge High Court To Revisit NY Escrow Suit

By Jon Hill

New York borrowers have urged the U.S. Supreme Court to again revive their claims for millions in mortgage escrow interest from Bank of America, arguing the Second Circuit's recent decision to free the bank for a second time still gets federal banking preemption wrong.

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Judge Nixes $28M DAPL Verdict To Pave Way For Deal

By Cara Salvatore

A North Dakota federal judge agreed Tuesday to overturn the state of North Dakota's $28 million verdict against the U.S. for failure to control Dakota Access pipeline protesters, clearing the way for a settlement the parties have said is ready to go.

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Conn. Drug Price Law Still Allows Hikes, 2nd Circ. Told

By Brian Steele

Wholesale distributors that abide by Connecticut's drug price cap law can hike the cost of their other products to ensure they don't suffer losses, the state told the Second Circuit Tuesday, raising the ire of the companies trying to invalidate the new statute.

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Analysis

Squires' Institution Flips Are Increasing Uncertainty At PTAB

By Dani Kass

U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Director John Squires has created a record low institution rate at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, and attorneys say it's becoming increasingly clear that even an initial approval from the director may not last.

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Feds, Unified Patents, AT&T Push Back On High Court Bids

By Dani Kass

The U.S. Supreme Court received objections to three patent petitions on Tuesday, with Unified Patents fighting Dolby's appeal of its own Patent Trial and Appeal Board win; AT&T and Nokia protesting an attempt to revive a $181 million trial loss; and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office opposing inventor Gilbert Hyatt's challenge to prosecution laches.

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As FCC Launches 'The View' Probe, Dem Calls It 'Mob Rule'

By Christopher Cole

Following the Federal Communications Commission opening an agency probe of ABC's "The View" to decide if the show runs afoul of equal time rules, a Democratic FCC member has urged the network to keep pushing back.

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AGs Say House Child Safety Bill Weakens States' Authority

By Susan Smiley

A group of 44 attorneys general for states including California, New York, New Jersey and Michigan have created a coalition opposing the House version of the Kids Internet and Digital Safety Act, H.R. 7757, and signed a letter to congressional leaders pointing out the shortcomings of the bill.

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Public Interest Groups Oppose FCC TV Ratings Revamp

By Aneeta Mathur-Ashton

Several public interest groups have filed comments opposing the Federal Communications Commission's proposed update of the TV content ratings that would warn consumers when a program may include transgender or nonbinary characters or themes related to gender identity.

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Justices Rebuff Ohio Freight Broker Case After Montgomery

By Linda Chiem

The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday rebuffed Ohio-based freight broker Total Quality Logistics LLC's bid to invoke federal law to shield it from state-based negligence and personal injury claims over a fatal 2019 accident.

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Justices Deny Fla.'s Bid To Sue Calif., Wash. In Trucking Fight

By Linda Chiem

The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday spurned Florida's bid to file suit alleging California and Washington state flouted federal law by allowing unauthorized immigrants to obtain commercial driver's licenses, but dissenting Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito said the high court "cannot refuse to hear suits between states."

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Insurers Will Pay Bulk Of $10M Wrongful Conviction Deal

By Abigail Harrison

A North Carolina man who claimed through a guardian that he was coerced as a teen into falsely confessing to the rape and murder of an 11-year-old girl has agreed to a $10 million deal with the state and county law enforcement, in which insurers will foot most of the bill.

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Justices Won't Take Suit Against Teamsters Fund Overseers

By Kellie Mejdrich

The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday turned down a Teamsters retiree's bid for review of the dismissal of his proposed class action alleging that union multiemployer plan trustees and advisers allowed risky investments and hefty plan management fees, leaving in place a Second Circuit decision from November.

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9th Circ. Won't Revive Wash. City Workers' Vax Mandate Suit

By Ben Adlin

A Ninth Circuit panel Tuesday put an end to city workers' lawsuit challenging Bellingham, Washington's COVID-19 vaccine mandate, ruling that a lower court appropriately dismissed the action and barred the workers from amending their claims.

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Trump Admin Looks To Ax Expanded Suit Over Staffing Cuts

By Emily Brill

A union-led coalition should not be allowed to pursue an expanded challenge to the Trump administration's reshaping of the federal workforce, the administration argued, telling a California federal judge that the lawsuit is turning into a "litigation safari."

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Ironworkers Union Local Must Face NJ AG's Bias Suit

By Katherine Smith

A New Jersey Superior Court judge refused to dismiss the state's discrimination lawsuit accusing an Ironworkers local of systematically passing over Black union members for job assignments, ruling that the claims are not time-barred or preempted by federal labor law.

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FTC Tells DC Circ. That Meta Monopoly Judge Botched Timing

By Bryan Koenig

The Federal Trade Commission has urged the D.C. Circuit to revive its lawsuit accusing Meta of monopolizing personal social media through its purchases of WhatsApp and Instagram, arguing the district court wrongly held the question of monopoly to when the case went to trial, not when the FTC sued.

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Schools Fight New Lead Counsel, Cert. In Aid-Fixing Suit

By Celeste Bott

Five private universities that have yet to settle with students over the alleged fixing of financial aid offerings argued Tuesday that an Illinois federal judge should deny them class certification rather than allow them to tap different lead counsel after misrepresentations regarding one firm's purportedly contingent casework have come to light.

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Justices Pass On Fight Over Phone Search During Traffic Stop

By Jared Foretek

The U.S. Supreme Court won't hear a challenge to the search of a registered sex offender's phone during a traffic stop by Missouri police, leaving in place an Eighth Circuit ruling that the man's consent was valid even after several requests by police.

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Judge Says Ex-City Prosecutor's Bias Suit Should Be Tossed

By José Luis Martínez

A Texas federal judge recommended Tuesday that a bias and retaliation suit against the city of Corpus Christi by a former assistant city attorney be tossed because he failed to show that comparable workers were treated better or that the city's performance-based reasons for firing him were false.

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Apple, OpenAI Say X Is Refusing To Allow Some Depositions

By Spencer Brewer

Apple Inc. and OpenAI Inc. told a Texas federal court that X Corp. wrongly stymied their ability to take depositions from X employees amid the social media company's sweeping antitrust suit, saying that X has refused to schedule the required number of depositions.

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Copyright Suits Against Jan. 6 Attys Won't Be Tossed

By Jared Foretek

Attorneys who represented Jan. 6 defendants will have to face a consultant's claims that they copied her jury-attitude report without permission after a D.C. federal judge rejected their arguments that their conduct fell under fair use and the public's right to access court records.

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Colo. Justices Say Debt Buyer Must Show It Owns The Debt

By Rachel Konieczny

A debt buyer seeking to collect a debt must attach to its complaint a writing that shows the debt buyer owns the debt, the Colorado Supreme Court said Tuesday in ruling for a consumer who incurred a $671.29 credit card debt.

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5th Circ. Won't Rehear DOJ's Dropped Boeing Criminal Case

By Mike Curley

The Fifth Circuit won't rehear appeals from the families of the victims of two fatal Boeing 737 crashes seeking to reverse the U.S. Department of Justice's dismissal of its criminal fraud case against the company, saying it has no jurisdiction to review the dismissal.

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Pa. Justices Say Late Asbestos Suits Can't Reach Parent Co.

By Matthew Santoni

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has ruled that employees of a former shipbuilding company are too late to bring their asbestos-related lawsuits, so they can't pierce the corporate veil and seek damages against its parent company.

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Feds Say No Harms Stem From Trump Photo On Park Passes

By Tom Lotshaw

Some people may dislike seeing President Donald Trump on their annual entrance passes for national parks and other federal lands, but that's not an injury that can support litigation over the passes, according to the U.S. Department of the Interior.

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Colo. High Court Says Broken Signal Waived City's Immunity

By Zach Dupont

The Colorado Supreme Court unanimously ruled Tuesday that the City of Colorado Springs isn't immune from a driver's lawsuit claiming the city was negligent for a car accident caused by a malfunctioning traffic light.

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DOJ Again Targets UCLA With Antisemitism Claims

By Hailey Konnath

The Trump administration on Tuesday once again sued the University of California, Los Angeles over its handling of protests following Hamas' October 2023 attack on Israel, this time demanding that the university repay federal grants it received while it was allegedly "deliberately indifferent" to antisemitism on campus.

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Trade Court OKs Revised Japanese Steel Duty

By Jack McLoone

The U.S. Department of Commerce properly backed its use of a shipment date over an invoice date when conducting a review of the antidumping duty rate for a Japanese company's imports of certain steel products, the U.S. Court of International Trade found.

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CBP Says $20.6B In IEEPA Tariff Refunds Have Been Sent

By Dylan Moroses

U.S. Customs and Border Protection's tariff refund system has processed hundreds of thousands of new entries over the past two weeks, and since coming online last month it has cleared $20.6 billion in refunds for duties struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court to importers, according to a declaration filed Tuesday in the U.S. Court of International Trade.

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Importers Tell Justices Trump China Tariff Hikes Went Too Far

By Dylan Moroses

The U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision striking down President Donald Trump's emergency tariff regime should encourage the justices to consider and overrule lower courts' judgments upholding China tariffs and subsequent modifications made to them during his first term, importers said Tuesday.

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Brief

Two Korean Chemical Exporters Face Triple-Digit Duties

By Jack McLoone

A pair of South Korean exporters of certain monomers and oligomers may be hit with triple-digit antidumping duty rates after the U.S. Department of Commerce finalized determinations on Tuesday that they are selling the goods at unfair prices.

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Arizona Clarifies 2024 Destroyed Property Tax-Valuation Law

By Sanjay Talwani

Arizona will retroactively clarify its treatment of the tax valuation of destroyed property under newly signed legislation amending language in a 2024 measure that left questions in its application.

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No Farm Tax Break For Property, Minn. Tax Court Affirms

By Sanjay Talwani

The owner of a 35-acre property in Minnesota failed to show sufficient evidence that his use of the land met the threshold for an agricultural tax break, the state tax court affirmed.

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LatAm Found $669M Tax Revenue By Sharing Info, OECD Says

By Kevin Pinner

Latin American countries identified at least €576 million ($670 million) in additional liabilities for taxes, interest and penalties last year through the common reporting standard and exchange of information between tax authorities, according to the OECD's tax transparency forum.

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US Asks 5th Circ. To Rethink Axing Of Home Distilling Ban

By Kat Lucero

The U.S. government asked the Fifth Circuit to revisit its April opinion finding the tax code's ban on distilling whiskey at home unconstitutional after another appellate court's opposite conclusion affirmed the ban.

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Minn. Court OKs Homestead Break For Pair With Guide Camp

By Sanjay Talwani

A Minnesota couple with a seasonal resort and year-round home is entitled to full homestead credits for both, the state tax court said, calling the statutory distance limitation on application of that benefit ambiguous.

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ICE To Target Immigration Attys In Bid To Curb Asylum Fraud

By Rae Ann Varona

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security issued a new directive seeking to expand Immigration and Customs Enforcement attorneys' authority to target immigration attorneys, who the department says "abuse" the asylum system by filing false asylum claims.

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Detainee Transfer Limit Must Be Nixed, Feds Tell Minn. Judge

By Tom Lotshaw

The Trump administration told a Minnesota federal judge on Friday that an order limiting its ability to transfer noncitizens from a holding facility in Minneapolis to detention centers outside the state is legally and operationally flawed.

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Contractor Must Produce Migrant Flight Recruitment Plans

By Carolyn Muyskens

A Massachusetts federal judge ordered an aviation company to hand over documents about an alleged scheme to transport immigrants to the island community of Martha's Vineyard, including records about the scope of migrant recruitment efforts and the role race, ethnicity and country of origin may have played in determining who to recruit.

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Brief

3rd Circ. Stay Blocks Khalil's Removal For High Court Appeal

By Bonnie Eslinger

The Third Circuit on Tuesday granted former Columbia student Mahmoud Khalil's request to stay a split panel decision in his immigration case, blocking his detention and removal while he seeks to have the ruling reviewed by the U.S. Supreme Court.

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Wash. Tribal Site Secrecy Cuts Against Injunction, Court Told

By Crystal Owens

A Washington telephone company says a bid by the Lummi Nation to seal information containing the locations of sensitive archaeological sites undermines the tribe's claims that a preliminary injunction is necessary since maintaining the confidentiality of those locations mitigates the alleged risk of potential looting.

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9th Circ. Ruling Must End Land Transfer Suit, Copper Co. Says

By Crystal Owens

Resolution Copper Co. is asking a federal court to dismiss an amended religious freedom and constitutional challenge to a Tonto National Forest 2,500-acre land exchange that includes an ancient Apache worship site, arguing it recycles claims that the Ninth Circuit and U.S. Supreme Court have already rejected.

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FCC Seeks Input On AT&T's Bid To Escape Calif. Mandates

By Christopher Cole

The Federal Communications Commission has asked for public input on an effort from AT&T to be freed of its eligible telecommunications carrier requirements in California, days after the telecom giant sued in federal court for similar relief.

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FCC Clears Drone Counter System To Deploy At World Cup

By Christopher Cole

The Federal Communications Commission told an Israeli company the agency's rules do not prohibit law enforcement authorities from using the firm's drone-countering system during the World Cup, but said waivers might be needed for deployment at other events.

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Judge Tosses Anti-Pot Suit Over CMS Hemp Benefits Program

By Mike Curley

A D.C. federal judge has thrown out a challenge to a Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services program to give Medicare beneficiaries access to federally legal hemp products, finding none of the groups or individuals who aimed to block the program have standing.

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Calif. Atty Says Pot Rescheduling Keeps LA Appeal Alive

By Sam Reisman

A California attorney who has challenged state and local cannabis licensing policies across the country on the grounds that they discriminate against out-of-state players urged the Ninth Circuit not to dispose of his challenge to Los Angeles' social equity program.

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Treasury Proposal Maps Compliance Road For Stablecoins

Stablecoin issuers should prepare for bank-style anti-money laundering and sanctions obligations under, and consider submitting comments on, the Treasury Department's proposed Genius Act rules, which are reshaping compliance expectations for digital asset businesses and affiliated financial institutions alike, say attorneys at Arnold & Porter.

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Adapting To AI-Driven Scrutiny Of Foreign Asset Disclosures

As the government expands AI-driven, cross-agency fraud detection, foreign asset disclosure should be viewed as part of a broader, data‑driven enforcement ecosystem that prioritizes consistency, documentation and proactive governance, says Logan Koehring at FBT Gibbons.

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How The High Court Expanded Freight Broker Liability

After the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Montgomery v. Caribe Transport II that freight brokers may be liable for selecting unsafe motor carriers, the key question will be whether brokers used reasonable care in selecting a given motor carrier, with the concurring opinion offering some clues as to what reasonable care might look like, says Marc Blubaugh at Benesch.

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Operational AI Washing: Fortifying The Disclosure Record

The same artificial intelligence-driven workforce narratives that once appeared in earnings calls and Form 8-Ks can easily become raw material for future operational AI washing claims, so companies must be careful when drafting public disclosures because winning a federal motion to dismiss starts months before a lawsuit is ever filed, say attorneys at Akerman.

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Wiley Hit With Proposed Class Action Over Data Breach

By Christine DeRosa

Wiley Rein LLP has been hit with a proposed class action accusing the Washington, D.C., firm of negligence after the firm said a group that may be affiliated with the Chinese government accessed emails of firm personnel.

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Quinn Emanuel Sues To Collect $1.5M From Binance's Zhao

By Caroline Simson

Quinn Emanuel has filed suit in Washington, D.C., against former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao, who was pardoned by President Donald Trump last fall, asking the court to enforce an arbitral award of nearly $1.5 million in unpaid attorney fees and other costs.

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SPLC Says DOJ Indictment Is Baseless 'Retributive Campaign'

By Hailey Konnath

The Southern Poverty Law Center on Tuesday asked an Alabama federal court to throw out the Trump administration's indictment claiming it paid extremist group informants to "stoke racial hatred," arguing that it's a "top-down, retributive campaign" that constitutes vindictive prosecution.

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3rd Circ. Disapproves Of Judge's Quips In Fatal Crash Case

By Y. Peter Kang

The Third Circuit on Tuesday scolded a Pennsylvania federal judge for his "inappropriate attempted witticisms" while presiding over a lawsuit in which a parent blamed transportation companies for the deaths of his two children in a highway collision, saying the judge's "ill-conceived attempts at levity" in a fatal injury case could be misinterpreted by the public.

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Beasley Allen Fails To Overturn J&J Talc Disqualification

By Adrian Cruz

A New Jersey federal judge affirmed the Beasley Allen Law Firm's disqualification from multidistrict litigation over Johnson & Johnson's talcum powder on Tuesday, determining that the firm has failed to provide a valid reason to back its attempt at a stay and temporary reinstatement into the matter.

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DHS Pauses ICE Home Entries Under Administrative Warrants

By Courtney Bublé

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin told a Democratic senator earlier this month he's paused immigration agents' use of administrative warrants to enter private property, but has not officially revoked the controversial policy issued last year.

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Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court

By Jarek Rutz

The Delaware Chancery Court this past week handled a broad mix of cross-border corporate control disputes, merger settlements, startup equity fights, advancement claims and board oversight litigation, while also weighing fallout from high-profile deals involving Microsoft Corp., The Boeing Co. and Nikola Corp.

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Titan Of The Plaintiffs Bar: Cohen Milstein's Brent Johnson

By Matthew Perlman

Brent W. Johnson is helping to pioneer the use of antitrust law to tackle collusion in low-wage labor markets with work that includes representing workers from poultry- and meat-processing plants in a pair of cases that led to more than $600 million in settlements last year.

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