Apple Tells Fed. Circ. ITC Move Boosts Watch Case Appeal

By Ryan Davis

Apple Inc. has told the Federal Circuit that the U.S. International Trade Commission's decision last month to review whether a redesigned Apple Watch infringes Masimo Corp. patents "underscores the need" for the appeals court to reverse the ITC's original infringement finding.

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VLSI, PQA Square Off Again Over Conspiracy Claims In Va.

By Dani Kass

A Virginia state judge spent two hours Wednesday working through whether VLSI Technology LLC should be able to proceed with its claims that Patent Quality Assurance LLC violated state law during its successful challenge to a VLSI chip patent.

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Intel Wins €140M Fine Cut But Can't Shake EU Abuse Finding

By Matthew Perlman

A European court ruled in favor of competition enforcers on Wednesday, upholding a ruling of abuse of dominance against Intel Corp. but slashing the fine by €140 million ($163 million).

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UScellular Can't Call 'Checkmate' In Fraud Suit, Justices Told

By Christopher Cole

Two whistleblowers told the U.S. Supreme Court Wednesday that UScellular cannot escape claims of spectrum auction fraud by arguing they had "pleaded themselves out of court" at an earlier stage of the False Claims Act suit.

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HealthEC Data Hack Class Seeks OK Of $5.5M Privacy Deal

By Gina Kim

Over 1.6 million patients affected by HealthEC's cybersecurity attack in 2023 asked a New Jersey magistrate judge for her final stamp of approval on a $5.48 million class action settlement, arguing Monday the resolution includes additional, significant benefits like Medical Shield Complete which protects them from healthcare-related fraud. 

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HPE Fights State AGs' Bid To Block Juniper Integration

By Matthew Perlman

Hewlett Packard Enterprise told a California federal court that even though it has already combined with Juniper Networks, state enforcers are seeking to temporarily break up the companies while the court mulls a U.S. Department of Justice settlement over the $14 billion wireless networking deal.

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Calif. Bar Exam Proctor Fights To Dismiss Class Claims

By Emily Sawicki

The company that proctored the fraught California Bar Exam in February wants to end a proposed class action brought by test-takers claiming they are owed monetary relief for funds they spent on the exam, which was rife with technical errors, though both sides have indicated they are open to a settlement agreement.

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Regulate AI With Existing Regs, Financial Industry Lobby Says

By Sarah Jarvis

The Financial Services Institute on Wednesday recommended that regulators apply existing rules and standards to artificial intelligence, saying they should use new rules only when AI brings "genuinely new issues or significantly alters existing risks."

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Brief

Keep Power Limits Low To Protect Satellites, DirecTV Says

By Nadia Dreid

The Federal Communications Commission has been toying with the idea of rising power limits for nongeostationary orbit satellites, and while the agency thinks the move could increase the availability of satellite broadband, DirecTV says the decision would be bad news for satellite TV.

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Gov't Urges Combining Verizon, AT&T Cases Over FCC Fines

By Christopher Cole

The Federal Communications Commission has urged the U.S. Supreme Court to pair Verizon's appeal of a $46 million FCC penalty with a similar case involving AT&T that centers on the FCC's ability to issue fines without a jury trial.

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Too Zealous? EscapeX Challenges Sanctions In Google Case

By Elliot Weld

EscapeX IP is asking the Federal Circuit to review en banc a decision upholding $255,000 in fees and sanctions for what a California federal judge found to be a frivolous patent suit against Google, arguing the decision contradicts precedent and raises questions for the whole legal profession.

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Skyworks Fights Challenge To USPTO Policies At Fed. Circ.

By Adam Lidgett

Skyworks Solutions is pushing the Federal Circuit to ignore a Chinese company's challenge to new U.S. Patent and Trademark Office policies on when patent reviews can be denied, saying the dispute should be tossed the same as other similar challenges.

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Capital One, Influencers Seek OK For Commissions Deal

By Emilie Ruscoe

Financial services giant Capital One has pledged to pay influencers commissions, plus up to nearly $4 million in attorney fees and costs, and make changes to its online shopping browser extension to settle claims that it siphoned commissions away from influencer participants in its affiliate marketing program.

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Atty Fees In Meta Pixel Privacy Action Reduced In Final Deal

By Joyce Hanson

A New York federal judge has reduced an attorney fees award by about $100,000 in a Video Privacy Protection Act class action settlement with Scientific American's publisher, modifying the fees to approximately $200,000 in his order granting final approval of the deal.

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Del. Justices Probe Charter Defense Rights In VoiP Fight

By Jeff Montgomery

A Delaware Supreme Court panel on Wednesday pressed an attorney for Charter Communications Holding on the company's obligation to provide notice that a supplier's patents — and its duty to defend — were entangled in a Sprint Communication infringement suit against Charter and affiliates.

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Meta Hit With Patent Claims Over Ray-Ban Smart Glasses

By Elliot Weld

Meta is facing a lawsuit by a smart appliance company that claims Meta's Orion artificial intelligence-powered smart glasses and its Ray-Ban smart glasses are infringing a patent.

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Ukrainian Civilians Say Intel, TI Parts Used In Russian Missiles

By Spencer Brewer

Several Ukrainian civilians told a Texas state court that semiconductor components manufactured by Intel Corp., Texas Instruments Inc. and others ended up in Russian missiles, saying Wednesday the companies negligently allowed their products to flow to the Russian military.

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Pegasystems Sued By Neighbor Veralto Over Water 'Deluge'

By Julie Manganis

Massachusetts-based water technology company Veralto took its upstairs neighbor Pegasystems to state court on Wednesday, saying the software maker and its contractors are responsible for a sprinkler line rupture that caused extensive damage to Veralto's recently renovated offices.

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Weil, Reed Smith Build WTW's Newfront Buy For Up To $1.3B

By Jade Martinez-Pogue

Advisory, brokerage and solutions company WTW, advised by Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP, announced Wednesday it had agreed to acquire Reed Smith LLP-led broker Newfront for up to $1.3 billion in a deal that will expand WTW's reach in the middle market and presence in technology, fintech and life sciences.

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Crypto Bankruptcy Trust Can Tap D&O Policy, Judge Rules

By Hilary Russ

A Texas bankruptcy judge has found that a directors and officers liability insurer was wrong to refuse a reasonable $4.65 million settlement demand from the trustee overseeing the wind-down of former cryptocurrency data miner Compute North Holdings, but that the court can't force the carrier to accept it.

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FTC Upholds 2021 Ban On SpyFone CEO's Surveillance Apps

By Allison Grande

The Federal Trade Commission has refused to revisit its 2021 order permanently banning the marketer of the surveillance app SpyFone from distributing the product or similar monitoring services, finding that the company's CEO had failed to show that there had been any changes in the law, the agency's priorities or other relevant circumstances in recent years. 

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FCC Says It Might Ban Calls From 3 Chinese Telecoms

By Nadia Dreid

China's "Big Three" telecom operators will have their calls completely blocked from U.S. networks if they don't update their anti-robocall plans, the Federal Communications Commission has warned.

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EDTX Jury Finds TV Ad Tech Patent Invalid In Win For Taiv

By Adam Lidgett

A Texas federal jury on Thursday cleared Canadian smart TV box company Taiv Inc. of infringement allegations by MyChoice LLC over a television advertising technology patent, and also found the patent was invalid.

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The Hidden Pitfalls Of Letters Of Credit In Lease Negotiations

Amid a surge in commercial office leasing driven by artificial intelligence firms, it's crucial for landlords to be aware of the potential downside of accepting letters of credit — in particular, for amounts of security that are less than the statutory bankruptcy claim cap, say attorneys at Allen Matkins.

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Identifying And Resolving Conflicts Among Class Members

As the Fifth Circuit's recent decision in Nova Scotia Health Employees' Pension Plan v. McDermott International illustrates, intraclass conflicts can determine the fate of a class action — and such conflicts can be surprisingly difficult to identify, says Andrew Faisman, a clerk at the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

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How 11th Circ.'s Qui Tam Review Could Affect FCA Litigation

On Dec. 12, the Eleventh Circuit will hear arguments in U.S. ex rel. Zafirov v. Florida Medical Associates, setting the stage for a decision that could drastically reduce enforcement under the False Claims Act, and presenting an opportunity to seek U.S. Supreme Court review of the act's whistleblower provisions, say attorneys at Epstein Becker.

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Series

The Biz Court Digest: Welcome To Miami

After nearly 20 years in operation, the Miami Complex Business Litigation Division is a pioneer upon which other jurisdictions in the state have been modeled, adopting many innovations to keep its cases running more efficiently and staffing experienced judges who are accustomed to hearing business disputes, say attorneys at King & Spalding.

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Bonus Spotlight

Litigation Shops Paying Above-Market Bonuses, Reports Say

By Andrea Keckley

Litigation boutiques Yetter Coleman LLP and Dunn Isaacson Rhee LLP are giving above-market bonuses to their associates, according to reports from Above the Law and Bloomberg.

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Jack Smith To Launch Firm With Willkie Partner, 2 Ex-Deputies

By Jack Rodgers

Jack Smith, the former Justice Department special counsel appointed to investigate President Donald Trump, is set to launch his own firm alongside two of his former top deputies and the co-chair of Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP's investigations and enforcement practice.

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Judge Bove Faces Complaint Over Trump Rally Attendance

By Courtney Bublé

U.S. Circuit Judge Emil Bove, who previously served as President Donald Trump's personal defense attorney and a top official at the U.S. Department of Justice, has been hit with a judicial misconduct complaint for his appearance at a Trump event on Tuesday night.

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Analysis

Wanted: Temporary US Attorney, No Experience Needed

By Phillip Bantz

Frustrated by a string of court rulings disqualifying several of his U.S. attorney picks, President Donald Trump lamented recently that he might "just have to keep appointing people for three months and then just appoint another one, another one." Experts say the idea raises legal and practical issues.

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Akerman Beats Healthcare Cos.' Bid To Escape Fee Suit

By Madison Arnold

Akerman LLP can continue its fees lawsuit against Rennova Health Inc. and other defendants after they lost their motion to dismiss the suit for being "facially time-barred, factually flawed and legally indefensible," a Florida state judge has ruled.

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Fla. Atty Faces Bar Referral Over 'Hallucinated' Case In Filing

By Madison Arnold

A Florida appeals court will refer an attorney to the state's Bar after she filed a brief that included a "hallucinated" case.

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AGs Say Judicial Safety Threats Reaching 'All-Time Highs'

By Matthew Santoni

Attorneys general for 43 states, three territories and the District of Columbia signed a letter to Congress urging more financial support for judicial security in the face of threats against judges, including funding for a program that lets judges scrub addresses and personal information from online databases.

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Disciplined Attys Want High Court's Take On Judge Criticism

By David Minsky

A father-daughter team of attorneys have brought a petition to the U.S. Supreme Court challenging their suspensions for criticizing a Florida state judge who reversed a $2.75 million jury verdict in favor of their client in a racial discrimination lawsuit, saying their comments are protected by the First Amendment. 

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McIver's Immunity Disputed In Detention Center Assault Case

By Elizabeth Daley

Federal prosecutors asked a New Jersey federal judge to maintain all charges against U.S. Rep. LaMonica McIver, who was accused in an indictment of assaulting federal officers outside an immigration detention center during a scrum in which the mayor of Newark was arrested in May.

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