Trump-IRS Settlement Result Of Sham Suit, Judge Rules

By Jack McLoone

President Donald Trump's $10 billion suit against his own Internal Revenue Service and the resulting settlement deal lacked a legitimate controversy, given Trump's control over both the agency and the U.S. Department of Justice, a Florida district judge said Monday in an order barring Trump or others from citing the deal.

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

2nd Circ. Rejects Bid To End NYC's Congestion Pricing

By Linda Chiem

The Second Circuit on Monday upheld New York City's congestion pricing, rejecting two suburban counties' claims that Manhattan's congestion pricing tolls are discriminatory and unconstitutionally restrict motorists' right to travel.

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

9th Circ. Backs Block On FinCEN Border Cash Reporting Reqs

By Rae Ann Varona

The Ninth Circuit Monday affirmed a temporary block on a Trump administration rule that singles out cash-moving businesses along the southwest border for heightened anti-money laundering reporting, agreeing that a plaintiff money service business will likely suffer irreparable harm.

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

Blanche Hearing To Proceed After Graham's Death

By Courtney Bublé

The Senate Judiciary Committee will still hold the confirmation hearing for Todd Blanche's nomination to be attorney general on Wednesday, despite the death of committee member Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., over the weekend. 

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Senate Confirms SDTX Judge Pick Tied To Gun Group

By Courtney Bublé

The Senate voted 46-44 Monday evening to confirm Executive Assistant U.S. Attorney Arthur "Rob" Jones as a U.S. district judge to serve on the Southern District of Texas bench.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

GOP States Back Bid To Restore Voter Database Expansion

By Jared Foretek

A group of Republican-led states is calling on the D.C. Circuit to stay a lower court decision vacating the Trump administration's changes to a database used to verify voters' citizenship or immigration statuses, saying that a number of state laws cannot be executed if Social Security number searches are not allowed.

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

Custodia Urges Justices To Take Up Fed Master Account Fight

By Aislinn Keely

Crypto-focused Custodia Bank is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to take up its challenge of a Tenth Circuit ruling that backed Federal Reserve banks' discretion to deny master accounts to otherwise eligible banks, arguing the decision empowers unappointed regional bank presidents to deny "disfavored" banks access to critical payment services.

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

SEC Asked To Reopen Reporting Proposal After Email 'Error'

By Jessica Corso

Better Markets is asking the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to reopen the comment period for its semiannual reporting proposal after the agency allegedly directed prospective commenters to an incorrect email address, but an agency spokesperson said Monday the email address listed on the proposal was working.

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

Regulators Caution On Bank Loans To Unauthorized Workers

By Jon Hill

Federal regulators on Monday cautioned banks and credit unions about lending to "non-work authorized" individuals, issuing guidance that flags repayment concerns about such borrowers as part of President Donald Trump's push to curb banking access for unauthorized immigrants.

1 document attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

EPA Floats New Permits For Proposed Coal Ash Regs

By Tom Lotshaw

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Monday floated the idea of a new permit to help more companies benefit from coal ash disposal regulations it has pitched, and also proposed approving a coal ash permitting program that Alabama has submitted.

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

EPA Says Calif. Can't Stop Congress From Reviewing Waivers

By Hailey Konnath

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency urged a California federal court to reject the Golden State's "futile" suit over the Trump administration's plan to have Congress undo Clean Air Act waivers, arguing that the law not only allows for such review, it prohibits the courts from getting involved.

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

Trump Cuts 3M Acres From Utah Monument Protections

By Crystal Owens

President Donald Trump on Monday rolled back federal protections on the Grand Staircase-Escalante and Bears Ears national monuments in Utah, a move that environmental groups said they will fight to block in court.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Solar Co. Loses Challenge To Validity Of Conn. Panel Seats

By Brian Steele

A Connecticut state court judge has turned away a solar developer's argument that three commissioners were sitting illegally on the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority when they ruled in favor of an Avangrid Inc. unit as part of a dispute over a power purchase agreement.

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

NJ Aims To Protect Ratepayers With Nuclear Power Guidelines

By Elaine Briseño

New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill on Monday signed into law a bill intended to ensure consumers don't bear the costs of nuclear power projects needed to help address the growing demand for electricity driven primarily by data center consumption.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court

By Jarek Rutz

The Delaware Chancery Court last week handled disputes involving corporate control, post-closing competition, executive departures, arbitration awards and shareholder litigation.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Albertsons, Safeway Face Trial Over Wash.'s Opioid Epidemic

By Ben Adlin

Albertsons and Safeway ignored signs of problematic opioid prescriptions in Washington for years, an attorney for the state told a Seattle judge Monday during opening statements in a bench trial over allegations that the pharmacy chains failed to prevent the diversion of opioids that fueled the state's long-running overdose crisis.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Health Org. Can't Halt FTC Texas Suit Over Trans Youth Care

By Gianna Ferrarin

A D.C. federal court declined to bar the Federal Trade Commission from pursuing a consumer protection suit in Texas against the World Professional Association for Transgender Health, finding WPATH failed to show those proceedings threatened the court's injunction of a related investigation by the FTC.

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

NY Times Says Gov't Can't Justify Concealing Boat Strike Videos

By Holly DeMuth

The New York Times told a New York federal judge that the U.S. Department of Defense's "vague and implausible" justification for withholding footage from several military strikes on boats in the Pacific and Caribbean is countered by its decision to release clips from the footage on social media.

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

2nd Circ. Backs NYC Law Blocking Broker Fees For Tenants

By Hailey Konnath

The Second Circuit held Monday that a lower court was correct to refuse to preliminarily block a New York City law prohibiting certain landlord broker fees, ruling that the city has pointed to legitimate government interests that warrant the law.

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

NJ Justices Revamp Test For Certain Zoning Variances

By Carla Baranauckas

The New Jersey Supreme Court revised a decades-old legal test governing use variances for "inherently beneficial" projects, ruling Monday that applicants must show that a proposed development will not substantially impair a municipality's zoning plan before a zoning board balances the project's public benefits against its downsides.

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

Judge OKs Pause On Reviewing CFPB Layoff Plan

By Sarah Jarvis

A D.C. federal court has approved a joint bid from the Trump administration and a union that represents Consumer Financial Protection Bureau staffers to pause weighing a response to the administration's plan to lay off about half of the agency's remaining workforce, after the parties argued the president's nominee to head the agency should be given the chance to review the plan if he is confirmed.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Chicago Alderman Fired Staffer Over Ethics Report, Suit Says

By Lauraann Wood

A Chicago alderman's former staffer has lodged a state court whistleblower claim alleging she was unlawfully terminated for reporting her ethical concerns around several financial matters, including a $6,000 cash campaign donation whose delivery she says she helped facilitate through her car trunk.

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

12 Democratic AGs Challenge Paramount-Warner Bros. Deal

By Bryan Koenig

A dozen Democratic attorneys general on Monday sought to block Paramount Skydance's proposed $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, arguing in a California federal court challenge that the deal threatens competition for film distribution and basic cable.

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

FTC Secures $12M Settlement Over Edwards-JC Medical Deal

By Jared Foretek

California-based Edwards Lifesciences and Singapore's Genesis Medtech agreed to pay a combined $12 million to settle claims from the Federal Trade Commission that Edwards attempted to evade the Hart-Scott-Rodino notification and waiting period when it acquired medical device maker JC Medical from Genesis in 2024.

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

$725M Liquid Nails Deal Would Harm Market, FTC Tells Judge

By Pete Brush

Loctite maker Henkel's planned $725 million acquisition of Liquid Nails would create a construction adhesives market behemoth with a "staggering" 80% retail share, the Federal Trade Commission told a Manhattan federal judge Monday as it challenges the deal.

1 document attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

TransDigm Won't Go Head To Head With DOJ On Stellant Deal

By Nadia Dreid

Aircraft parts maker TransDigm has abandoned its $960 million plan to buy private equity-owned Stellant Systems after the U.S. Department of Justice told the companies it planned to take the matter to court if they decided to go through with it.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

SC City Urges Justices To Skip Beach-Gear Rental Case

By Aneeta Mathur-Ashton

The city of North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, is opposing a bid from a beach equipment rental company asking the U.S. Supreme Court to review its challenge to city ordinances it says violate the Sherman Antitrust Act.

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

NJ Delays Registry Aspect Of Newly Enacted Data Broker Law

By Allison Grande

New Jersey regulators won't immediately enforce a sweeping data broker law that took effect in June, announcing Friday covered businesses have to register and pay a potentially hefty registration fee until spring, and it would consider complaints about the law's lack of clarity in policing its sensitive data sales ban.

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

Families Cite Geofence Ruling In Newborn Blood Testing Case

By Parker Quinlan

A group of parents suing the state of Michigan over the way newborn blood samples are collected and stored has asked a federal judge to revive its claims by citing recently decided U.S. Supreme Court precedent over the use of bulk cellphone data by police.

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

2nd Circ. Orders New Trial In NYPD Search, Prosecution Suit

By Brandon Lowrey

A Second Circuit panel on Monday ordered a new civil trial for four New York Police Department officers found liable for busting into an apartment without a warrant and arresting one of its occupants without cause, saying the district court erroneously refused to allow jurors to hear recordings of phone calls that cast doubt on the plaintiff's credibility.

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

Mass. Judge Hints At Fee Award In DOD Grant Cap Case

By Julie Manganis

The U.S. Department of Defense was "not substantially justified" in moving forward with a unilaterally imposed reimbursement limit for grant-funded research support costs, a Massachusetts federal judge said Monday while weighing whether to award legal fees to a group that successfully challenged the cap.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

CBP Sends Another $15B In Tariff Refunds To Treasury

By Dylan Moroses

Customs and Border Protection finalized over $15 billion more worth of tariff refunds in just under two weeks, according to a Monday declaration filed in the U.S. Court of International Trade.

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

Brief

US Sets Tariff Rate Quotas For Sugar, Syrups

By Jack McLoone

The U.S. Department of Agriculture set the tariff-rate quotas on Monday for imports of both raw cane sugar and certain refined sugars that will be subject to lower tariff rates for the 2027 fiscal year.

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

Hawaii To Expand First-Time Homebuyer Tax Break

By Jaqueline McCool

Hawaii will increase the individual income tax deduction amount that can be claimed for a taxpayer's contribution to a first-time homebuyer account under a bill approved by Democratic Gov. Josh Green.

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

Ill. Conforms Property Tax Law With High Court Takings Case

By Maria Koklanaris

Illinois updated parts of its property tax code to clarify that tax authorities cannot keep more than a debtor owes under a bill approved by Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker.

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

4th Circ. Says Manual Cellphone Searches At Border Are Legal

By Parker Quinlan

The Fourth Circuit has ruled that manual searches of a cellphone at the border are legal because they are considered routine and do not require individualized suspicion by a border agent about whether a crime has occurred.

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

States Win Vacatur Of Remain-In-Mexico Termination Memos

By Tom Lotshaw

A Texas federal judge granted Texas and Missouri's push to block the Biden-era termination of the Remain in Mexico policy, which required asylum-seekers to wait in Mexico while their claims were processed, and ruled a nationwide vacatur was appropriate.

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

Lawmakers Push Court For ICE Records On Visit Policy

By Courtney Bublé

Democratic House members suing the Trump administration over its policy limiting congressional visits to immigration detention facilities are urging a federal judge to compel the administration to produce records on the policy by Aug. 13.

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

Ex-Yale Student Sues ICE Agents Over Courthouse Arrest

By Aaron Keller

A former Yale University student has sued a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement deportation officer and six unidentified federal agents in Connecticut state court, saying his 2025 lawsuit to force the adjudication of his 2016 asylum application may have triggered his detention in Hartford's federal courthouse last year.

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

Brief

DHS Revives Plan For NJ Immigrant Detention Center

By Tom Lotshaw

The U.S. government told a federal judge that it's actually still considering plans to turn a New Jersey warehouse into an immigrant detention center, a week after it reported it no longer intended to pursue the challenged project.

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

Ex-Lawmaker's Atty License Pulled After Fraud Conviction

By Brian Steele

Former Connecticut state Sen. Dennis A. Bradley will lose his law license on an interim basis later this week while a court considers imposing a lengthier suspension over his March 27 wire fraud conviction.

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

Alaska Tribal Health Group Drops $390M Suit After Deal

By Crystal Owens

The Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium is looking to nix its $390 million challenge to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services over seven years of alleged unpaid contract support cost claims after the parties reached a settlement in the dispute.

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

FCC Ditches Lifeline Obligations In Hundreds Of Counties

By Aneeta Mathur-Ashton

The Federal Communications Commission has announced a list of counties across the country in which eligible telecommunications carriers will no longer be required to advertise and offer Lifeline-supported voice service.

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

Judge Halts Ohio Hemp Law In Dormant Commerce Fight

By Sam Reisman

An Ohio federal judge on Monday ordered state officials to stop enforcing a new law that reclassified hemp products as marijuana, although the order's scope is limited to the products manufactured and sold by the hemp interests that challenged the policy.

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

Hemp Co. Tells 7th Circ. To Leave RICO Case Buried

By Mike Curley

Hemp product maker Urb Cannabis and its affiliates are urging the Seventh Circuit to leave intact the dismissal of a hemp seller's suit alleging that Urb's products were illegal and led to a police raid on his store, saying the racketeering claims are insufficient and fail to describe the conspiracy or identify its members.

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

Cannabis Co. Says Mich. City Forced Illegal License Waiver

By Susan Smiley

A marijuana dispensary in Michigan's Upper Peninsula told a federal court that a Michigan municipality changed cannabis licensing rules midway through the process and committed fraud and breach of contract.

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

Future Of Fed Independence Shaky After Justices' Ruling

The U.S. Supreme Court's recent ruling in Trump v. Cook preserved the Federal Reserve's formal independence but could invite the president to remove board members with just modest protections, leaving the central bank's autonomy uncertain and potentially setting up fresh clashes over other agencies, says Steven Schwinn at the University of Chicago.

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

The Nuance Between The Atkins, Gensler SEC Strategic Plans

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Paul Atkins' recent draft strategic plan is a marked departure from that of former Chair Gary Gensler, portraying an intention to leave decisions to the market rather than steering corporate behavior through expansive disclosure mandates and regulatory enforcement, say attorneys at Cleary.

1 document attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Series

Mich. Banking Brief: All The Notable Legal Updates In Q2

The second quarter brought several notable financial services law developments to Michigan, including a U.S. Supreme Court ruling on state tax foreclosures, progress on a money transmission modernization bill package, and continued legislative momentum on cryptocurrency and mortgage lending, say attorneys at Dykema.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Blanche Called Anti-Weaponization Fund 'Mistake,' Per Durbin

By Courtney Bublé

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said on Tuesday the anti-weaponization fund created as part of the president's settlement with the IRS was "a mistake," according to Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., after his meeting with Blanche.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Justices Seek More Funds Over Increased Threats, Talk Ethics

By Courtney Bublé

U.S. Supreme Court Justices Amy Coney Barrett and Elena Kagan made rare Capitol Hill appearances Tuesday, discussing the court's budget request for fiscal 2027, the "shadow docket" and ethics issues.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Quinn Emanuel, Spiro Ousted From CoStar Copyright Fight

By Elliot Weld

A California federal judge has disqualified Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP and its attorney Alex Spiro from representing a commercial real estate platform in a copyright infringement suit brought by CoStar, agreeing that the firm's representation of CoStar in a different case should result in its removal from this one.

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

Bronx Defenders Union OKs Strike 1 Year After Last Walkout

By Andrea Keckley

The Bronx Defenders has become the third New York City-based legal aid organization to authorize a strike this month, which comes just one year after the group's most recent walkout.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Brief

Trump Lawyer Matthew Schwartz Confirmed To 2nd Circ.

By Courtney Bublé

The Senate voted 50-45, along party lines, on Tuesday to confirm Matthew Schwartz, one of President Donald Trump's personal attorneys and a partner at Sullivan & Cromwell LLP, to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Ky. Law Prof Wants Court To Block Judge For Dean Pick

By Hailey Konnath

A University of Kentucky law professor asked a federal court to block U.S. District Judge Gregory Van Tatenhove from becoming the next law school dean, claiming that the appointment has "stripped the faculty" of their credibility on the basis of peer review.

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

Calif. Bar Settles With Administrators Of 'Disastrous' Bar Exam

By Andrea Keckley

The State Bar of California has reached a settlement with the administrators of its "disastrous" February 2025 bar exam, whose array of highly publicized technical glitches prevented hundreds of aspiring lawyers from completing the test.

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