Analysis

New Fraud Division Flexes Might In Latest Enforcement Policy

By Phillip Bantz

The National Fraud Enforcement Division's new corporate enforcement policy emphasizes the quick pursuit of certain types of fraud through data analysis and staff resources, expands the target list beyond traditional healthcare providers and highlights the division's growing dominance within the U.S. Department of Justice, experts say.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Analysis

No Sign Of A Final Whistle For NCAA Eligibility Suits

By Chris Villani

New NCAA rules and a looming U.S. Senate bill could lead to a decrease in court fights over athletes' eligibility, but the huge dollars at stake and athletes' desire to extend their careers mean that litigation is not going to disappear anytime soon.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Trump's Comments Fuel Challenge To White House Press Ban

By Jared Foretek

An attorney for the three major news organizations temporarily barred from the White House said President Donald Trump's own words doomed his administration's claim that the ban was based on national security concerns, telling a D.C. federal judge Thursday that the president simply wanted "good press."

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Amex Fined $350M Over Anti-Money Laundering Lapses

By Jon Hill

American Express has been fined $350 million over findings of systemic deficiencies in its banking unit's anti-money laundering program, including for alleged failures to properly detect and report $13 billion in potentially illicit activity over roughly a decade, federal regulators said Thursday.

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

FBI Turns To UFC To Help Train Its Agents

By Courtney Bublé

The FBI is going to enlist Ultimate Fighting Championship to train its special agents in defense technical techniques focusing on mixed martial arts, the agency has said.

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

Dems Says GOP Broke Senate Rules In Jack Smith Hearing

By Courtney Bublé

The Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee have accused Republicans of violating committee rules during a hearing last week with former special counsel Jack Smith.

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

US Atty Video Lets Harvard Researcher Probe Motive

By Julie Manganis

A rare video statement released by Massachusetts U.S. Attorney Leah Foley after her office charged a Russian national and Harvard researcher with smuggling frog embryos last year could be seen as "objective evidence" that the prosecution was driven by vindictiveness, a federal judge said on Thursday.

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

High Court Puts 4th Circ. Political Ad Rate Ruling On Ice

By Christopher Cole

The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday stayed a Fourth Circuit ruling that directed the Federal Communications Commission to review an agency staff decision requiring broadcasters charge the lowest political ad rates for committees tied to candidates.

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

FCC Dem Slams 'Dark Money' Plan For Political Robocalls

By Nadia Dreid

The FCC spends a lot of time trying to do something about the billions of illegal robocalls Americans are pelted with every month, but the agency is currently considering a proposal to relax the current rules on political robocalls ahead of the November midterms — to the chagrin of the commission's lone Democrat.

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

Public Denied Access To Colo. Secretary's Swipe Records

By Zach Dupont

A conservative nonprofit organization won't get access to office badge swipe records from the Colorado secretary of state after a state court judge on Thursday found the records were protected under the Colorado Open Records Act.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

GAO To Investigate CFTC Staffing Cuts After Warren Request

By Sarah Jarvis

The U.S. Government Accountability Office will investigate the impact of staffing cuts at the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, after Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., urged the watchdog agency to probe whether the cuts impacted the CFTC's ability to fulfill its responsibilities and whether they are legally sound.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

NCUA's 2-Week Leadership Gap Draws Senate Dem Scrutiny

By Jon Hill

The Senate Banking Committee's top Democrat is seeking more details on an unusual gap in leadership that took place this summer at the National Credit Union Administration, questioning how the agency continued to function with an empty governing board.

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

11th Circ. Voids Fla. Septic Permit Ban Over New FWS Rule

By David Aaro

The Eleventh Circuit issued a win Thursday for Florida environmental regulators who had been ordered to temporarily stop issuing new septic tank permits over concerns for the well-being of manatees, saying the lower court relied on a federal rule that was no longer valid.

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

DC Circ. Won't Rehear Ruling Blocking Fla. Wetlands Permits

By Aneeta Mathur-Ashton

The D.C. Circuit has denied a petition from the federal government for an en banc rehearing of a previous court decision vacating the EPA's authorization for Florida to run a Clean Water Act permitting program for dredging and filling wetlands.

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

Feds Say End Of Chevron Deference Justifies ESA 'Harm' Rule

By Gautama Mehta

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service told California and South Carolina federal judges that the Trump administration's redefinition of "harm" under the Endangered Species Act was permissible after the overturning of Chevron deference.

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

Enviro Group, Feds End Suit Over Alaska Refuge Road Work

By Crystal Owens

The state of Alaska, the federal government and an environmental nonprofit have agreed to dismiss a dispute over a 500-acre land exchange that will allow road construction on Izembek National Wildlife Refuge lands.

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

Duke Energy, Tech Giants Ink Data Center Cost Deal

By Gina Kim

Duke Energy announced on Wednesday that it has reached a deal with North Carolina regulators, Amazon, Meta, Microsoft, Google and others to beef up existing protections to ensure ratepayers won't be burdened with costs incurred from data centers and other large-load customers in the Tar Heel State. 

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Oil Co. Moves To Toss Landowners' Well Cleanup Claims

By MJ Koo

Colorado landowners who won class certification in a federal suit accusing an oil and gas company of transferring well rights to avoid cleanup obligations faced the company's bid to dismiss court-ordered cleanup claims, with the company saying the landowners cannot show that any court order would result in the wells being plugged.

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

FDA Expects Mifepristone Safety Review Results By March

By Gianna Ferrarin

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration anticipates finishing its safety evaluation of mifepristone by March 2027, suggesting a longer horizon for its review of regulations allowing the abortion drug to be dispensed remotely, according to a report filed by the agency in Louisiana federal court.

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

High Court Urged To Keep Prison Trans Care Ban Blocked

By Gianna Ferrarin

The U.S. Supreme Court should decline the Trump administration's request to disturb a district court order barring the Federal Bureau of Prisons from enforcing a gender dysphoria care ban, a group of transgender individuals incarcerated in BOP facilities argued Thursday.

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

Pasadena Worker Accuses 9th Circ. Of 'Lies' In COVID Ruling

By Craig Clough

A Pasadena police employee on Thursday failed to convince the Ninth Circuit to give him a second shot at suing the city over its COVID-19 vaccination policy, rejecting his argument that a panel decision in the matter was "rife with lies, misstatements, material omissions and total fabrications."

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

Analysis

USPTO Plan To Limit AIA Reviews Is In White House's Hands

By Ryan Davis

Rules proposed by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to place new limits on patent challenges are being scrutinized by a White House agency, which has held dozens of meetings with groups advocating for and against the plan in recent weeks.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

New USPTO GC Vows Government Won't 'Micromanage' IP

By Bonnie Eslinger

John Duffy, the new U.S. Patent and Trademark Office general counsel and acting solicitor, told patent professionals gathered in San Francisco on Thursday that the economic use of patent rights is best handled by the private sector and that governments here and elsewhere shouldn't "micromanage the commerce of intellectual properties."

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Ex-Patent Commissioner Joins IP Advocacy Group Board

By Adam Lidgett

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's former acting patent division leader has been named as a new advisory board member of the Council for Innovation Promotion after leaving the agency in April, the advocacy group has announced.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

IP Rights Group Urges Against Litigation Funding Disclosure

By Elliot Weld

An inventor rights advocacy group has told a federal courts rules committee that requiring the disclosure of who is funding civil litigation would put independent inventors at a disadvantage when trying to enforce patents against a larger company.

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

Fed. Circ. Presses Inventor On SAWS Bias Challenge

By Celeste Bott

Federal Circuit judges appeared skeptical of an inventor's argument that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's controversial and now discontinued "sensitive" patent applications program derailed his application for a patent on a type of internal combustion engine in violation of his constitutional rights.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Senators Say Ticket Brokers Can't Pry Into Their Emails

By Nadia Dreid

Two U.S. senators have told a Maryland federal court that a ticket broker cannot force them and their staff to comb through their communications "in the hope of uncovering stray remarks" to support the company's interpretation of the law the FTC is suing it for violating.

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

DOT Tells 2nd Circ. Congestion Pricing Fight In Wrong Court

By Linda Chiem

The Trump administration doubled down on its efforts to eliminate New York's congestion pricing, telling the Second Circuit that the underlying contract dispute was heard in the wrong court and that it shouldn't be handcuffed to now-disfavored policies of earlier administrations anyway.

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

Dodd-Frank Act Is Focus Of Latest Amici In NJ-Kalshi Case

By Elaine Briseño

Multiple amici, including the drafter of the Dodd-Frank Act, weighed in on New Jersey’s petition for the U.S. Supreme Court to review the regulation of prediction markets and sports betting, saying the statute was not meant to displace state gambling laws.

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

Pa. Legislators Want More Time To Regulate 'Skill Games'

By Matthew Santoni

Three Pennsylvania lawmakers and a coalition of "skill games" operators want the state Supreme Court to extend a deadline before police start seizing the game terminals, hoping to give the state Legislature more time to pass a law governing the games after the court found them to be illegal slot machines.

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

Coinbase Tells 2nd Circ. Only CFTC Oversees Event Contracts

By Rae Ann Varona

Event contracts that Coinbase offers, including sports event contracts, are swaps over which the Commodity Futures Trading Commission has "exclusive" jurisdiction, the company has urged the Second Circuit to rule, arguing Connecticut's laws have "no role to play" in regulating prediction markets.

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

Calif. Insurance Chief Hopefuls Debate Fix For Fire Market

By Eli Flesch

The two Democratic candidates running to be California's top insurance regulator clashed Thursday in a debate over whether fire insurance should be reformed within the private market or become the remit of a public system of disaster insurance.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Colo. Landowners Sue To Block Data Center

By Benjamin Morse

Colorado landowners sued Weld County and a data center developer, alleging that the county unlawfully approved the first phase of what they say will be the state's largest data center despite concerns about its water and electricity needs, noise pollution and violations of public meeting requirements.

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

Ex-Thermo Fisher Manager Blames Age, Sex Bias For Ouster

By Julie Manganis

A former senior director of research and development at Thermo Fisher Scientific alleged that he was sidelined and then forced out as part of an effort by the Massachusetts-based company to weed out older workers and promote a more "youthful" and "progressive" image.

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

FTC's Meador Urges EU To Adopt Case-By-Case Enforcement

By Bryan Koenig

Federal Trade Commission member Mark Meador on Thursday argued digital market rules in the U.K. and the European Union undermine international cooperation with U.S. antitrust and consumer protection enforcers, in the latest Trump administration admonishment of the policies.

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

Gildan Changes T-Shirt Contract Terms After FTC Pressure

By Matthew Perlman

The Federal Trade Commission said Thursday that T-shirt manufacturer Gildan Activewear SRL has removed terms from its supply agreement with distributor S&S Holdings LLC that prevented Gildan from offering better prices to competing distributors.

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

Mayne, Ascend Cut $1M Generic Price-Fixing Deal With States

By Gina Kim

Ascend Laboratories, Mayne Pharma and Citron Pharma asked a Connecticut federal judge Thursday to sign off on a settlement with a coalition of states resolving claims the companies were involved in an illegal conspiracy to fix prices and suppress competition for generic drugs in the United States. 

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

DA Looks To Stifle Subpoena In NC Digital Court Class Claims

By Hayley Fowler

A local district attorney is seeking to quash a subpoena in a proposed class action alleging glitches in North Carolina's electronic court system led to scores of individuals being wrongfully arrested or detained, calling the request "overly broad" and "unduly burdensome."

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

Taro Pharma Says MDL Deal Bars States' Duplicative Claims

By Lauren Berg

Taro Pharmaceuticals USA asked a Connecticut federal judge to toss generic-drug price-fixing claims brought by a coalition of states on behalf of consumers that are duplicative of claims the consumers have already resolved through settlements in separate multidistrict litigation.

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

Pa. Justices To Hear Philly's Suit Over Opioid-Spurred Crime

By P.J. D'Annunzio

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has agreed to weigh in on whether the city of Philadelphia can sue CVS Pharmacy Inc. and other stores under state public nuisance laws for allegedly exacerbating the opioid epidemic with their prescription drug sales.

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

Trade Court Certifies Broad IEEPA Tariff Refund Class

By Jack McLoone

The U.S. Court of International Trade granted a broad class certification for importers subjected to President Donald Trump's now-invalidated global tariff regime Thursday in a move the judge said he hopes will ensure all such tariffs are refunded.

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

Trade Court Remands Commerce's Freight Coupler Duties

By Dylan Moroses

The U.S. Department of Commerce failed to sufficiently explain how attached freight couplers are within the scope of countervailing and antidumping duties placed on freight rail couplers imported from China, the U.S. Court of International Trade ruled Thursday, remanding the matter back to Commerce for further explanation.

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

CIT Unconvinced By Commerce's Landing Gear Scope Finding

By Jack McLoone

The U.S. Department of Commerce's finding that certain imported landing gear subassemblies are in the scope of duty orders on Chinese chassis doesn't mesh with the plain language of the orders, the U.S. Court of International Trade ruled.

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

Global Trade More Resilient Than Expected In 2026, WTO Says

By Jack McLoone

The global market has largely weathered conflicts in the Middle East and other disruptions better than expected so far in 2026 thanks to the growth of artificial intelligence, the World Trade Organization said Thursday, revising upward some of its global trade growth projections.

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

Brief

EU Lawmakers Call For Stronger Trade Ties To African Nations

By Dylan Moroses

The European Parliament approved a resolution Thursday that calls for stronger trade relations with African countries.

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

Sen. Scott Can Trim Booz Allen Tax Info Leak Suit, Judge Says

By Zak Kostro

Sen. Rick Scott can narrow his suit over an IRS contractor's leak of his tax returns to proceed only on a negligence claim against Booz Allen Hamilton in Florida federal court, a judge ruled, saying the trim avoids overlapping litigation after claims against the leaker were transferred.

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

Coastal County Tells Texas Justices It's Free To Tax Stored Oil

By Michael Nunes

A Texas county's property tax on stored oil that companies said was bound for export doesn't violate the import-export clause of the U.S. Constitution, the county told the state's high court Thursday, saying a significant amount of oil remained in the state.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Feds Bar Microsoft, Adobe, Others From Visa Program

By Britain Eakin

Vice President JD Vance said Thursday that the Trump administration has suspended Microsoft, Adobe and other technology companies from utilizing a program that allows H-1B visa holders to apply for green cards, saying Microsoft in particular has "abused" the system.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Md. Judge Again Finds DHS Breached Asylum Settlement

By Jared Foretek

A Maryland federal judge ruled Thursday that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security has continued to violate a class action settlement protecting asylum seekers who entered the U.S. as unaccompanied minors, ordering the agency to stop opposing the asylum seekers' bids to pause deportation cases.

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

ICE Policy Halting Biometrics Collection On Hold

By Aneeta Mathur-Ashton

A D.C. federal judge has put a hold on the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's policy of refusing to collect biometric information needed to process immigration applications for detained immigrants.

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

DOJ Says Denver's Mask Ban Threatens Officers' Safety

By Rachel Konieczny

The Trump administration sued the city of Denver and its officials in Colorado federal court Thursday, alleging the city's new ordinance that bans facial coverings for federal law enforcement officers is unconstitutional and threatens officers' safety.

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

DOJ Urges Justices To Keep Anti-ICE Activist Detained Pretrial

By Brandon Lowrey

Federal prosecutors on Thursday urged the U.S. Supreme Court to leave in place a Sixth Circuit ruling that a self-described "antifa" member must remain in jail pending trial on charges that he cyberstalked and threatened a social-media supporter of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

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

Split Congress Could Spur Competing Probes, Cleary Finds

By Courtney Bublé

If the new year brings an era of divided Congress, then "dueling investigations" into the same topics should be expected, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP said in a report it released Thursday.

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

Buffalo Sues Feds Over NY Tribe's Land Sale's Status

By Crystal Owens

The city of Buffalo is asking a New York district court to vacate the federal government's decision to place a 3.8-acre waterfront parcel in a restricted fee status for the Seneca Nation of Indians that could remove the property from the municipality's tax rolls.

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

Top Groups Lobbying The FCC

By Christopher Cole

Lobbying efforts at the Federal Communications Commission spiked in September as companies and interest groups looked to sway FCC policies on issues such as modernizing the phone networks, Lifeline reform, environmental rules, satellite spectrum and more.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Kratom Cos. Say Baltimore Overreached With Marketing Suit

By Mike Curley

Three kratom sellers and distributors are asking a Maryland federal court to throw out a suit from the city of Baltimore alleging they misled consumers about the addictive nature of kratom, and saying the city is trying to step into enforcement shoes that are meant to be filled by state actors.

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

Fla. Judge Says Oct. 7 Attack Was 'Inflection Point' For U.S.

By David Minsky

U.S. District Judge Roy K. Altman addressed a small group of attorneys in a Florida law office to speak on his book about the October 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel, saying public debate over facts surrounding the event and underlying feud has reached an "inflection point" in America.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Wash. Attorney General Names New Tacoma Division Head

By Ben Adlin

Insurance litigator Jason Dickey-North will take over as the new chief of the Washington Attorney General's Office's Tacoma division, succeeding Laura Wulf, who's set to retire at the end of 2026, Attorney General Nick Brown announced Thursday.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

How States May Enter The Shareholder Proposal Landscape

Rescission of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's shareholder proposal rule doesn't herald the end of shareholder activism, but it allows state legislatures to play a central role in determining the future of shareholder proposals, with that uncertainty creating new opportunities for both issuers and activists, say attorneys at Thompson Coburn.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Changing Strategies To Protect Your Autonomous AI's IP

After Insilico recently named only human inventors on a patent application for an autonomous artificial intelligence's drug discovery, companies should take concrete steps to preserve the strongest possible intellectual property protection for AI-assisted work, including documenting human contributions and strengthening trade secret controls, says Stephen Ball at Husch Blackwell.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Series

Mentalism Makes Me A Better Lawyer

Convincing strangers I can read their minds may seem like an unusual second career for a legal practitioner, but both disciplines share several important requirements, including trust and preparation, says Warren Biro at Manatt.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Sheppard Mullin Hit With Class Action Over Data Breach

By Jake Maher

A former Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP paralegal launched a proposed class action against the firm in California federal court on Wednesday over a cyberattack it had in August, in which she says at least 1,000 people's names and Social Security numbers were stolen.

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

Cornell Defendant Seeks To Nix James As Special Prosecutor

By Andrea Keckley

One of the seven men accused of drugging and raping a fellow Cornell University student at a fraternity home has asked a New York state court to void Gov. Kathy Hochul's appointment of New York Attorney General Letitia James as special prosecutor in the case.

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

Gov't Attys Could Face Sanctions Over AI Use Omissions

By Madeline Lyskawa

A U.S. Court of Federal Claims judge has ordered four government attorneys to explain why they shouldn't be sanctioned for making factual misrepresentations about the U.S. Army's use of artificial intelligence to evaluate contract proposals.

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

Buzbee Faces $970K Fee Bid In Dismissed Conspiracy Cases

By Lynn LaRowe

A Mississippi lawyer is asking a Texas state court to award her more than $970,000 in fees after defeating claims that she and her law firm conspired with rapper Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter and Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP to retaliate against prominent Houston plaintiffs attorney Tony Buzbee and two of his former clients.

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