States Settle Challenge Of Paramount's Warner Bros. Deal

By Matthew Perlman

State enforcers suing to block Paramount Skydance's planned $110 billion purchase of Warner Bros. Discovery reached a settlement on Monday to end the case with a package of concessions.

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'So What?': Judge Pans DOJ Bid To End TikTok Consent Decree

By Craig Clough

A California federal judge said Monday he will not end a 2019 consent decree the government reached with TikTok Inc. predecessor Musical.ly over its collection of data on kids under 13 just because the U.S. Department of Justice is asking him to, saying the DOJ gave him no information about why he should.

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Due Process Not Limited In Bond Hearing Suit, 9th Circ. Says

By Rae Ann Varona

The Ninth Circuit held in a published opinion Monday that a certified class of asylum-seekers apprehended well within the U.S. border can challenge their detentions, rejecting the government's contention that the U.S. Supreme Court limited their due process rights.

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New Calif. Law Bars Legal Funders From Influencing Litigation

By Jack Karp

Corporate investors and litigation funders will be barred from influencing litigation strategy in California under a new bill signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom.

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Ohio Justices Nix Data Center Voter Poll Over Citizen Suits

By Nate Beck

The Ohio Supreme Court has rejected a proposed ballot question that would change the zoning code in Wilmington, Ohio, and expand residents' lawsuit powers to enforce standards for data center developments, in a decision following a proposed $4 billion Amazon Web Services project in the area.

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Insider Critiques Of Meta Came From Ignorance, Jury Told

By Cara Salvatore

A Meta vice president testified before a New Mexico state jury Monday that, "with all due respect," criticisms of the company's data handling from investigation partner Gibson Dunn and from then-Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg were born of a lack of understanding.

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SEC Prepares To Relax Fund Cross-Trading Limits

By Jessica Corso

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has informed the White House that it plans to propose a regulation that could loosen the rules around cross-trading prohibitions, potentially allowing more securities to be traded between funds overseen by the same adviser.

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FERC Wrongly Segmented Pipeline's Water Eval, DC Circ. Told

By Keith Goldberg

Environmental groups have told the D.C. Circuit that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission botched its analysis of the effects of a Williams Cos. unit's pipeline expansion project on streams and other aquatic resources in Virginia and North Carolina.

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HHS Can Claw Back $195M In Medicaid Payments From Mich.

By Danielle Ferguson

A D.C. federal judge on Monday said Michigan must return almost $200 million in Medicaid payments made to two state-operated psychiatric facilities, agreeing with a finding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' appeals board that the institutions did not meet federal requirements.

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CNN, Politico, MS Now Sue Trump Over White House Ban

By Theresa Schliep

CNN, Politico and MS Now on Monday sued President Donald Trump and some of his top aides for banning them from the White House, telling a D.C. federal court the action constitutes a "direct assault on the First Amendment."

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Brief

Copyright Chief Firing Fight Paused Over Pending Legislation

By Ivan Moreno

A D.C. federal judge has paused U.S. Copyright Office leader Shira Perlmutter's challenge to the Trump administration's attempt to fire her, saying pending legislation that would give the president authority to appoint the office's leader could have an "obvious effect" on the dispute.

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STB Denies Bid To Halt UP-Norfolk Southern Merger Review

By Linda Chiem

The Surface Transportation Board will press ahead with its review of Union Pacific's proposed $85 billion merger with Norfolk Southern, denying requests from rival railroads and major freight rail shipping customers seeking to have the board stop the deal in its tracks.

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IRS Asks 5th Circ. To Pause Microcaptive Rules Case

By Zak Kostro

The IRS asked the Fifth Circuit to stay briefing in a global tax services provider's bid to revive its challenge to the agency's reporting rules for microcaptive insurance companies pending the resolution of a related case before the appeals court.

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Mich. City Says Data Center Moratorium Suit Is Premature

By Keith Goldberg

A Michigan city has urged a federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit from developers that challenges a one-year moratorium on data center development, saying the pause doesn't represent a final land use decision that can be reviewed by a court.

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NJ Court Backs Arbitration Award Against Concrete Co.

By Katherine Smith

A New Jersey federal court on Monday upheld an arbitration award ordering a concrete supplier to rehire an employee who was fired after he tested positive for marijuana, rejecting the company's claim that an arbitrator exceeded her authority when issuing the award.

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Minn. AG Says X Lacks Standing To Challenge Deepfake Law

By Corey Rothauser

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison has urged a federal judge to dismiss X Corp.'s amended challenge to the state's election deepfake law, arguing Elon Musk's social media company still has not shown it faced a credible threat of prosecution.

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Costco Says It Didn't Say 'Zero Heavy Metals' In Protein Powder

By Jonathan Capriel

"Good, clean nutrition" doesn't actually mean "free of lead," Costco Wholesale Corp. told a Washington federal court on Friday as it pushed for dismissal of a proposed class action claiming its Orgain protein powders contained dangerous levels of toxic heavy metals.

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Glock Says Conn. Ban On 'Convertible Pistols' Is Too Vague

By Brian Steele

A new Connecticut state law banning pistols that can be "readily converted" into fully automatic weapons should not apply to guns produced by Glock Inc. and, if it does, the statute is unconstitutionally vague, the company said in a federal lawsuit Monday.

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Mass. Court Affirms Toss Of Gun Evidence In 22-Judge Ruling

By Julie Manganis

An evenly split Massachusetts Appeals Court on Monday let stand a judge's suppression of a gun found by Boston police officers during an inventory search prior to a vehicle being towed, in a rare ruling involving all but three of the intermediate appellate court's 25 judges.

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L3Harris Says Navy Deal Aims To Bolster Missile Supplies

By Tom Lotshaw

L3Harris Technologies said Monday that it's inked a multiyear agreement with the Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division in China Lake, California, to manufacture key missile components needed for national defense.

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Brief

US, China Officials Discuss Trade Ahead Of Trump, Xi Meeting

By Dylan Moroses

U.S. and Chinese officials held talks in New York to discuss trade matters ahead of President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping's meeting this week, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce said.

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Brief

Cambodian Clothes Hangers Dodging China, Vietnam Duties

By Jack McLoone

Steel wire hangers completed in Cambodia using components from China and Vietnam and then exported to the U.S. are evading duties on the products from those two countries, the U.S. Department of Commerce found Monday.

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Brief

Chinese Brake Drums Developed To Dodge Duties, US Says

By Jack McLoone

A type of brake drum imported from China was developed in order to wrongfully evade duty orders on such products from the country, the U.S. Department of Commerce preliminarily determined Monday.

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Brief

Malaysia, Indonesia Dumping Fatty Acids, Commerce Finds

By Dylan Moroses

The U.S. Department of Commerce found that certain fatty acids imported from Malaysia and Indonesia have been sold at less than fair value, according to notices published Monday. 

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Varian, Gov't Appeal Foreign Dividend Decision To 9th Circ.

By Kevin Pinner

Varian Medical Systems Inc. is appealing a U.S. Tax Court decision that it owes more than $7.2 million to the Internal Revenue Service as a result of the court limiting its deemed dividends deduction, while the government is also appealing, according to filings in the Ninth Circuit.

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IRS Properly Nixed Tax Deals, Couple Owe $1.8M, Judge Says

By Zak Kostro

A disbarred lawyer and his wife owe more than $1.8 million in outstanding tax liabilities the IRS has tried to collect for more than a decade, a Wisconsin federal judge said, finding the agency substantiated the liabilities and confirmed that it properly rescinded compromise offers to resolve the debts.

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Minn. Tax Court Correct On Childcare Break, Justices Told

By Sanjay Talwani

A Minnesota childcare center was entitled to judicial review of the denial of a property tax exemption despite failing to meet an initial deadline, it told the state Supreme Court, urging the court to uphold a state tax court decision that allowed the break.

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Ill. Panel Says News Report Bars Law Firm's FCA Suit

By Celeste Bott

An Illinois appellate court on Friday upheld the dismissal of a whistleblower lawsuit brought by Forde & O'Meara LLP accusing a company of secretly assigning its interests in unpaid state bills to unapproved entities to duck taxes, agreeing that a prior public disclosure of the alleged scheme in a news report bars the firm's claims.

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HHS Defends Move To Limit Noncitizen Medicaid Benefits

By Ganesh Setty

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has urged a Washington federal court not to block provisions in the 2025 federal budget bill generally denying Medicaid benefits to noncitizens receiving supplemental security income, countering claims of conflicting statutory language.

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Ala. Judge Halts ICE Construction-Site Arrest Policies

By Britain Eakin

An Alabama federal judge on Monday temporarily prohibited immigration officials from entering construction sites without warrants, preemptively detaining workers without justified suspicion that someone is an unauthorized immigrant and detaining workers who show proof of lawful presence.

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ICE Contractor To Pay $48.75M To End Family Separation Suit

By Tom Lotshaw

U.S. government contractor MVM Inc. has agreed to pay $48.75 million to resolve a proposed class action over its alleged participation in a policy that separated thousands of immigrant families during the first Trump administration, according to a motion for preliminary approval.

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Groups Want Colo. Detention Facility Halted Over Enviro Risks

By Rachel Konieczny

Advocacy groups urged a Colorado federal judge to order the halt of construction and planned operation of a federal immigrant detention facility in a Colorado town, contending Monday that the facility poses significant environmental risks and the agencies violated federal law in developing the facility's plans.

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Brief

DOJ Says 3 Noncitizens Face Charges For Voting In Ga.

By Kelcey Caulder

Three non-U.S. citizens have been criminally charged with voting illegally in federal elections in Georgia, federal prosecutors said. 

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Feds Want Calif. Tribe's Wild Horse Consultation Claims Nixed

By Crystal Owens

The government is asking a federal court to toss claims of executive order violations in a California tribe's lawsuit over the removal of wild horses from a 200,000-acre protected habitat, arguing the complaint failed to identify a treaty, statute or regulation establishing a specific trust duty.

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Bill Introduced To Return 18K Acres Of Fed Land To Ore. Tribe

By Crystal Owens

A federal bill introduced by Oregon lawmakers that will transfer more than 18,000 acres of U.S. Forest Service land to Oregon's Grand Ronde Tribe is set to be discussed before the U.S. Senate's Committee on Indian Affairs.

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Ligado Says Damages Rise To $50B In Gov't Takings Case

By Christopher Cole

Network company Ligado told the U.S. Court of Federal Claims that damages caused by the U.S. government for allegedly blocking its use of licensed airwaves have grown to $50 billion because of interest climbing on the amount originally sought.

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AT&T Asks FCC To Raise Mobile Power Limits In 3.45 GHz Band

By Nadia Dreid

AT&T is asking the Federal Communications Commission to raise the power limits for mobile and portable devices operating in the 3.45 gigahertz band, a slice of midband spectrum used largely for commercial 5G and home internet coverage.

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Cable Biz Insists FCC Can Preempt Broadband Rate Regs

By Christopher Cole

A cable industry group argued Monday that the Federal Communications Commission has the authority to stop states from regulating broadband rates when the federal agency issues new rules aimed at speeding up deployment.

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How Calif. Privacy Bill Could Change CIPA Tracking Cases

If California Gov. Gavin Newsom signs S.B. 690, the bill could materially reduce the leverage behind a pen-register-only claim or demand, so California Invasion of Privacy Act website tracking claims should not be evaluated the same way they were six months ago, says Alexandra Samofalova at Spencer Fane.

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Risk Considerations As EEOC Moves To Ax Data Reports

While the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's recent proposal to rescind requirements for workforce demographic reporting wouldn't bar employers from collecting data, companies would have to be especially careful to gather and use such information in legally defensible ways, say attorneys at Foley & Lardner.

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For Faster FDIC Review, Banks Must Front-Load Prep

Banks seeking to benefit from the efficiency promised by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.’s new two-phase review of deposit insurance applications must prioritize filing comprehensive submissions or risk the fate of applicants recently rejected by the Comptroller of the Currency, say attorneys at Skadden.

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How Cannabis Rescheduling Is Reshaping Bankruptcy

As broader cannabis rescheduling awaits a recommended decision, cannabis companies continue to test the boundaries of the Bankruptcy Code, with the recent Cannabist Chapter 15 recognition order suggesting that governmental resistance may be reduced in future filings, say attorneys at Thompson Coburn.

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Legal Deserts: Millions Across America Struggle To Access Lawyers

Tens of millions of Americans live in towns and counties across the nation with limited or no access to legal services. By one estimate, at least a third of the nation's counties qualify as a "legal desert," having only one or no attorney per 1,000 residents. Roughly 24 million Americans reside in these counties.

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Greenberg Traurig Hit With Action Over Client Data Breach

By Matt Perez

A proposed class of Greenberg Traurig LLP clients said the New York law firm failed to secure their personal data prior to a preventable data breach and delayed notifying clients of the breach for two weeks, in an action filed over the weekend in New York federal court seeking injunctive and other equitable relief to protect client data.

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Tesla Atty Misled Witness Days Before Bias Trial, Judge Hears

By Dorothy Atkins

The California Civil Rights Department asked a California judge for a protective order Monday on the first day of a bench trial over claims Tesla Inc. fostered racism at its Fremont factory, after a witness testified that an in-house Tesla attorney recently called him and misled him into believing he represented the agency.

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Q&A

She Has A Point: Fenwick's Jessica Kaempf

By Theresa Schliep

Jessica Kaempf of Fenwick & West LLP is a pragmatic yet tenacious attorney whose representation of her clients has earned her plaudits from Kathi Vidal of Winston Taylor, who praised Kaempf as part of a Law360 series celebrating women litigators.

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$1.35M Class Deal Reached Over Botched Calif. Bar Exam

By Emily Johnson

Takers of the February 2025 California bar exam that was marred by technical failures have agreed to settle their proposed class action against the proctor for $1.35 million, while the company also agreed to complete quality checks before proctoring future bar examinations, according to a motion seeking preliminary approval in federal court.

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Ex-Prosecutor Escapes Jan. 6 Atty's Defamation Suit

By Jared Foretek

Former federal prosecutor Andrew Weissmann on Monday won judgment on the pleadings in a defamation case brought by attorney Stefan Passantino, who had represented Cassidy Hutchinson, after Passantino alleged Weissmann had defamed him when saying he'd "coached" Hutchinson "to lie" to the January 6th Select Committee.

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Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court

By Jarek Rutz

The Delaware Chancery Court this past week dismissed a challenge to Alteryx Inc.'s $4.4 billion take-private sale, resolved a fight over the removal of a security technology company's director and declined to let Empery Digital Inc. immediately appeal a proxy contest ruling.

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