Top Takeaways From Meta's $17B Kid Safety Deal

By Emily Field and Cara Salvatore

A $17.1 billion deal with 29 states and Meta Platforms Inc. that includes reforms to Facebook and Instagram to protect children is seen as a benchmark for other settlements with social media companies as litigation and public pressure mounts over mental health harms to youth.

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Meta Judge Quickly OKs $17B Deal Over Social Media Harms

By Dorothy Atkins

A California federal judge overseeing a bellwether trial over claims Meta hid social media's harms to youth on Wednesday approved its $17.1 billion deal with 29 states, after a hearing in which she pressed lawyers on details of the deal and raised concerns about how Meta was handling attorney-client privilege issues.

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5th Circ. Upholds Drug Negotiations In Blow To Big Pharma

By Jeff Overley

Medicare's landmark program of drug price negotiations doesn't flout constitutional provisions involving the separation of powers, due process or excessive fines, the Fifth Circuit ruled late Wednesday, delivering a fresh blow to the pharmaceutical industry's campaign to tee up U.S. Supreme Court review.

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KKR To Pay 'Record' $250M To End DOJ Merger Notice Suit

By Lauren Berg

KKR & Co. has agreed to pay a $250 million civil penalty to resolve allegations that it hid key documentation and entire transactions for merger notification, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Wednesday, calling it the largest-ever penalty for repeat violations of the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act.

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75-Nation Visa Pause Likely Flouts Law, DC Judge Rules

By Rae Ann Varona

A D.C. federal judge has barred the U.S. Department of State from applying its pause on visa issuances to a group of applicants from 75 affected countries, saying the plaintiffs will likely succeed in arguing the pause violates federal immigration law.

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9th Circ. Denies Challenges To EPA Rule On Chemical Reviews

By Tom Lotshaw

The Ninth Circuit on Wednesday denied petitions challenging a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency rule related to when and how some new chemicals can be exempted from standard pre-manufacture review processes, ruling the agency acted in line with its statutory powers.

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5th Circ. Rejects Felon's 'Weird' Second Amendment Claim

By Craig Clough

The Fifth Circuit upheld a Louisiana man's felon-in-possession conviction Wednesday, rejecting his challenge that a prior conviction for trying to take a police officer's pepper spray lacked a founding-era analogue sufficient to justify barring him from possessing a firearm, as well as rejecting his "weird" argument that the disarmament was unsuccessful.

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Former Gov't Attys Back DOJ's Challenge To DC Ethics Bodies

By Emily Sawicki

Ex-Justice Department leaders are throwing their support behind the DOJ's suit challenging alleged "unconstitutional overreach" by Washington, D.C., attorney disciplinary authorities in their handling of an ethics complaint against former Assistant Attorney General Jeffrey Clark.

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Mich. Appeals Court Upholds Probate Judge Candidate DQ

By Susan Smiley

A candidate hopeful for Wayne Probate Court judge will not appear on the ballot in November after a Michigan Court of Appeals panel on Tuesday affirmed a lower court's decision that her nominating petitions did not have enough signatures to garner her certification.

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Calif. Bill Curbing PE Role In Litigation Heads To Newsom

By Lauren Berg

A California bill to ban corporate investors from influencing litigation strategy is heading to Gov. Gavin Newsom's desk after passing with bipartisan support from the state Legislature.

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Adams, Mamdani Broke NYC Law With Race Equity Plan Delay

By Rachel Riley

A New York state judge said Tuesday that former NYC Mayor Eric Adams and his successor, Zohran Mamdani, violated city law by missing deadlines for publishing a citywide racial equity plan, which was not released until more than two years after an initial January 2024 deadline.

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Analysis

4 Factors That May Decide Success Of IRS Easement Office

By Kat Lucero

As practitioners scrambled to meet deadlines to settle clients' disputes over conservation easement tax deductions, the IRS made a surprise announcement this month that it would establish an office to solely focus on such cases. Here, Law360 looks at how four factors will affect whether the IRS achieves its stated plans for the office.

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States Renew Bid To Block New Mail-In Ballot Rule

By Julie Manganis

A coalition of 24 states and the District of Columbia again asked a Massachusetts federal judge on Wednesday to block implementation of the U.S. Postal Service's rule restricting delivery of mail-in ballots, after the U.S. Supreme Court paved the way for an earlier injunction to be lifted.

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MyPillow CEO Lindell Appeals Smartmatic Sanctions Order

By Aneeta Mathur-Ashton

MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell has appealed a D.C. federal judge's sanctions order against him for filing what the court said were "frivolous" third-party claims and counterclaims against election systems company Smartmatic.

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5th Circ. Won't Reopen Apex's SEC Deal For Better Terms

By Craig Clough

The Fifth Circuit has denied Apex Clearing Corp.'s petition to revisit its settlement agreement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission over the clearinghouse's purported failure to keep records of off-channel communications, finding that other firms receiving more favorable settlement terms later on was not grounds for modification.

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SEC, SBB Resolve Misvalued Funds Case Ahead Of Sept. Trial

By Gina Kim

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and SBB Research Group LLC told an Illinois federal judge that they've reached a settlement that would resolve the long-running litigation alleging the fund adviser misled investors about the performance of some of the funds it oversaw, and to scrap the planned September trial date.

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Fed's Cook Says Trump Has 'No Lawful Basis' To Fire Her

By Hailey Konnath and Jon Hill

Federal Reserve Gov. Lisa Cook told the White House on Wednesday that President Donald Trump lacks a legally valid reason to fire her, arguing that previous mortgage fraud allegations leveled against her are untrue and would not justify removal.

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DC Circuit Upholds Approval Of La. LNG Terminal, Pipeline

By Jared Foretek

The D.C. Circuit on Tuesday rejected a challenge to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's approval of a $10 billion liquefied natural gas terminal and pipeline in Louisiana, denying petitions from environmentalists saying the commission had unjustifiably dismissed threats to the climate stemming from the project.

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Feds Urge 6th Circ. To Affirm $100M DTE Clean Air Act Penalty

By Tom Lotshaw

Several DTE Energy Co. entities should not be allowed to escape a $100 million civil penalty a Michigan federal judge imposed for Clean Air Act violations at a coke production facility near Detroit, the U.S. Department of Justice has told the Sixth Circuit.

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7th Circ. Holds High Court Ruling Supports Ark. PBM Rule

By Kellie Mejdrich

The Seventh Circuit refused Wednesday to revive a union fund's challenge to an Arkansas rule making health plans disclose pharmacy compensation and pay fees, backing a lower court's holding that the rule was in line with a 2020 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that permitted state cost regulations on pharmacy benefit managers.

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Idaho Abortion Ban Relief Narrowed To 1 Doctor

By Gianna Ferrarin

An Idaho federal judge walked back his recent order barring the state from enforcing its near-total abortion ban in certain health-related circumstances, finding that precedent in the U.S. Supreme Court supported a narrower injunction.

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Squires Institutes 6 Patent Reviews, Rejects 5 Others

By Ryan Davis

U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Director John Squires has instituted six patent reviews and denied five other requests in his latest round of decisions.

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X Loses Challenge To NY Social Media Disclosure Law

By Lauren Berg

New York's law requiring social media companies to divulge details of their content-moderation policies does not run afoul of the First Amendment, a federal judge ruled Wednesday, throwing out X Corp.'s challenge seeking to block enforcement of the measure.

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Iowa, Montana Ask Justices To Stop Paramount Merger Case

By Matthew Perlman

Iowa and Montana are asking the U.S. Supreme Court to stop California and other state enforcers from challenging Paramount Skydance Corp.'s planned purchase of Warner Bros. Discovery, calling the effort "a partisan enforcement action" that targets a procompetitive deal.

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Trucking Groups Urge Full 5th Circ. To Mull Penske Liability

By Linda Chiem

Trucking industry groups contend the Fifth Circuit unjustifiably expanded liability for upstream motor carriers when it recently held that trucking services giant Penske Logistics LLC could be held vicariously liable for a fatal 2018 Texas collision caused by a motor carrier that Penske knew nothing about.

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Connecticut Sues Kalshi To End 'Free-For-All' Wagering

By Brian Steele

Connecticut on Wednesday became the latest state to sue prediction market Kalshi for allegedly offering illegal sports gambling to its users, asking a court to shut down unlicensed wagers in the state and opening a new front in a legal battle that has previously reached the Second Circuit.

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Fla. Firm Must Face Fiduciary Breach Suit Over Property Deal

By Madison Arnold

A Florida state appeals court on Wednesday reversed an order dismissing a lawsuit brought by a property company alleging that Hoffman Larin & Agnetti PA and one of its attorneys aided and abetted a breach of fiduciary duty while representing a third party claiming an interest in a property owned by the company.

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Miami Politicians Must Face Ex-Top Cop's 1st Amendment Suit

By Emily Brill

Three former Miami city commissioners aren't shielded by the doctrine of qualified immunity from a fired police chief's First Amendment lawsuit, but the former city manager is, the Eleventh Circuit ruled Wednesday, saying the manager didn't know he risked violating the Constitution by suspending the chief before the firing.

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House Committee Wants DOL IG To Widen Info-Sharing Probe

By Benjamin Morse

Top House Education and Workforce Committee Republicans urged the U.S. Department of Labor's watchdog Wednesday to expand its review of information-sharing arrangements with outside groups, asking whether three additional agencies improperly disclosed confidential investigative material during the Biden administration.

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Feds Aim To Give Employers Clarity On Wellness Programs

By Kellie Mejdrich

The U.S. Department of Labor and other federal agencies on Wednesday issued guidance on employer wellness programs that permit fees on workers' health premiums for things like tobacco use, which the agencies said was in response to legal questions raised by numerous recently filed class action federal benefits lawsuits.

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Samsung, Apple Warn Against Google Payment Ban

By Aneeta Mathur-Ashton

Samsung and Apple told the D.C. Circuit that they are backing he district court's decision to reject a proposed ban on Google's payments to device distributors, with Samsung saying the ban would deprive it of the revenue it needs to help fund research and development in its mobile business unit and Apple saying it would only benefit Google at the expense of customers and third parties. 

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Brief

Ill. Aid-Fixing Trial Delayed As 7th Circ. Review Proceeds

By Lauraann Wood

Students and several elite private universities will have to postpone their trial over an alleged financial aid fixing scheme while the Seventh Circuit reviews expert-related findings that have allowed the case to proceed as a class action, an Illinois federal judge said Wednesday.

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DOJ Flags Breach Of Internal Policies In Apple Suit

By Bryan Koenig

The U.S. Department of Justice told a New Jersey federal judge Tuesday that its staffers breached internal policies when they shared personally identifiable information with an outside discovery vendor that was hired not by the department, but instead by the DOJ's state attorneys general partners, in the monopolization case against Apple.

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Flock Surveillance Cameras Enable Stalking, Class Suit Says

By Kelcey Caulder

Flock's nationwide vehicle surveillance system has repeatedly been used for "personal surveillance and stalking" rather than for proper law enforcement purposes, a driver said in a proposed class action in Georgia federal court.

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Sens. Push Probe Of DOT's Failure To Protect Flyers' Privacy

By Gina Kim

U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Shontel Brown, D-Ohio, asked the U.S. Government Accountabiliy Office Wednesday to investigate the U.S. Department of Transportation's "systemic abdication" and "regulatory neglect" of its consumer privacy enforcement mandates meant to protect air travelers' privacy, warning of "severe international and economic ramifications."

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Mass. Officials Rebuff Challenge To Vape Ban

By Jonathan Capriel

There's no chance smoke shops and retailers will come out on top in a lawsuit seeking to undo a Massachusetts ban on certain tobacco products, the state said when urging a federal judge to reject calls to block enforcement, saying too many appeals courts have sided with similarly situated states.

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Lawmakers Press Commerce To Curb Exports To Adversaries

By Courtney Bublé

A bipartisan group of lawmakers is urging the U.S. Department of Commerce to block U.S. citizens and businesses from working for foreign civilian intelligence and security agencies in Russia, China and other "countries of concern."

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Next Phase Of IEEPA Refund System 'Temporarily Delayed'

By Jack McLoone

U.S. Customs and Border Protection has "temporarily delayed" the rollout of the next portion of its system for refunds of the struck-down global tariff regime while it makes sure the system doesn't incorrectly affect other paid duties, it told the U.S. Court of International Trade.

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Ore. Homeowner Hit With $19K In Fees, Penalties By Tax Court

By Sanjay Talwani

An Oregon homeowner must pay $15,000 in attorney fees and $4,000 in penalties after consistently maintaining an unreasonable position in challenges to his property tax assessment, the state tax court ruled Tuesday.

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3rd Circ. Says McIver Lacks Immunity In ICE Assault Case

By Courtney Bublé

A panel of Third Circuit judges on Wednesday rejected claims from Rep. LaMonica McIver, D-N.J., that her congressional role protects her against criminal charges alleging she forcibly interfered with and obstructed federal officers at an immigration detention facility.

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NJ Can't Force Access To ICE Detention Center, Feds Say

By Madeline Lyskawa

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has pressed a New Jersey federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit from the Garden State's health commissioner seeking access to a Newark immigration detention center, saying whether state officials can inspect the facility is up to the federal government.

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DOJ Adds Philly Detainer Ban To 'ICE Out' Challenge

By P.J. D'Annunzio

The U.S. Department of Justice has expanded federal litigation against the city of Philadelphia over its "ICE Out" legislative package requiring immigration agents to remove their masks, now also targeting a bill prohibiting local law enforcement from holding noncitizens convicted of state crimes for transfer to federal custody for deportation.

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Group Says HHS Can't Cut Certain Immigrants' Medicaid

By Ganesh Setty

A Seattle-based community organization accused the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services of misinterpreting the 2025 federal budget bill, telling a Washington federal court it cannot strip Medicaid benefits away from noncitizens receiving Supplemental Security Income.

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Diocese Says Religious Freedom Fair Defense To DHS Taking

By Nate Beck

A New Mexico church argued that the federal government's eminent domain powers are not designed to override protections for religious expression, objecting to a plan that would seize part of a pilgrimage site to build a border wall.

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Mass. State Rep. Charged In $700K COVID Relief Fraud

By Julie Manganis and Carolyn Muyskens

A Massachusetts lawmaker was arrested early Wednesday on charges that he engaged in a series of schemes to fraudulently obtain more than $700,000 from COVID-19 pandemic-era relief programs, flipping some of the funds into higher-interest mortgages to others and paying campaign expenses, federal prosecutors said.

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Creek Nation Refutes Tulsa DA's Stance On State Crime Cases

By Joyce Hanson

The Muscogee (Creek) Nation has told the Tenth Circuit that Oklahoma's Tulsa County district attorney gets it wrong in stating that he has the authority to prosecute nonmember Native Americans for nonmajor crimes committed on the federally recognized tribe's reservation.

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Mont. Reaches Deal To Ensure Schools Teach Native History

By Crystal Owens

A group of individuals, tribal nations and the Montana Office of Public Instruction have agreed to settle a class action challenging the state's failure to implement a mandate that requires public schools to teach Indigenous history and culture in consultation with local tribes.

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Groups Ask Congress To Reject Idaho Toxic Waste Land Swap

By Isaac Monterose

The Center for Biological Diversity, Snake River Waterkeeper and ManaSota-88 Inc. urged Congress on Wednesday to remove a provision from the National Defense Authorization Act that the center says would "cede historic lands of the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes in Idaho to expand a radioactive waste dump at one of the country's largest Superfund sites."

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NTIA Has Given Final OK To All 56 State, Territory BEAD Plans

By Nadia Dreid

Nearly five years after the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act created the BEAD program, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration says it has approved all 56 final proposals from the states and territories.

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FCC Seeking More Spectrum For Space Launches, Reentry

By Christopher Cole

The Federal Communications Commission is on the hunt for more spectrum that could support space launches and reentry, and is asking stakeholders to weigh in with their own ideas on how to free up the airwaves.

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Brief

Ky. FM Stations Didn't Follow Licensing Rules, FCC Says

By Christopher Cole

The licensee of four Kentucky FM radio stations reached an agreement with the Federal Communications Commission to end a probe into whether it failed to file the stations' license renewals on time and left them off the air without permission.

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Student Loan Suit Draws Line On Testimony In Trust Litigation

A recent interlocutory opinion from the Southern District of New York shows securitization experts can explain servicing practices but cannot substitute for authenticated loan-level ownership proof or intent evidence, signaling that parties in student loan trust cases should sharpen recordkeeping and tracing strategies, says attorney Stanley Tate.

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Dems Say DOJ Opinion Aims To Foil Oversight Of White House

By Courtney Bublé

With midterm elections right around the corner, Senate Democrats are worried the new legal opinion from the U.S. Department of Justice could let the Trump Administration obstruct congressional oversight of the White House.

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ABA Faces Uphill Battle To Remain As Law School Accreditor

By Emma Cueto

The American Bar Association council responsible for accrediting law schools is fighting on multiple fronts to retain its status as a nationwide accreditor, fending off challenges at both the federal and state levels.

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Bradley Arant Launches Retail, Consumer Brands Practice

By Tracey Read

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP has launched a retail, digital commerce and consumer brands practice to help clients protect their brands and preserve public trust in fast-moving, highly regulated markets.

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