Analysis

NHTSA Fuel Economy Regs Overhaul Crushes EV Ambitions

By Linda Chiem

The elimination of strict federal mandates for higher fuel efficiency in new cars crushes momentum for the U.S. auto industry to pivot toward alternative-powered vehicles, ensuring that manufacturers will again be caught in litigation limbo as environmental groups prepare challenges to seemingly inconsequential standards with no penalties, experts say.

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Texas Biz Court Pares Southwest Union's Boeing Suit

By Spencer Brewer

A Texas Business Court judge pared back the scope of claims brought by the pilots union for Southwest Airlines against The Boeing Co. after regulators grounded the 737 Max aircraft, saying Monday that the pilots can recover only direct damages, not damages from secondary injuries.

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Ford Hybrid Engine Fire Defect Suit Gets Trimmed

By Susan Smiley

A proposed class action against Ford Motor Co. was trimmed from 11 to two plaintiffs Tuesday after a Michigan federal judge concluded that merely owning a recalled vehicle without an actual defect manifestation is insufficient to establish an injury.

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Philly Plaintiffs' Firm Says Uber Can't Support RICO Claims

By Mike Curley

Philadelphia personal injury firm Simon & Simon PC is again urging a Pennsylvania federal judge to throw out Uber Technologies Inc.'s racketeering claims alleging Simon & Simon masterminded a scheme to inflate settlements, saying none of the ride-sharing company's arguments or evidence show it was injured.

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Brightline Can Tap $190M In Ch. 11 Financing, Judge Says

By Vince Sullivan

Entities that own high-speed rail network Brightline Florida received a New Jersey bankruptcy judge's permission Tuesday to obtain interim access to $190 million of Chapter 11 financing in an unconventional loan package involving a nondebtor that runs the railroad.

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Boeing Can't Avoid Punitives With HQ Move, Passengers Say

By Ben Adlin

Passengers suing The Boeing Co. over the 2024 blowout of an aircraft door panel told a Washington state court on Monday that the aerospace giant can't escape punitive damages under Illinois law, claiming that corporate decisions made at the company's former Chicago headquarters are to blame for the event.

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Aviation Co. Gets Pretrial Win In Remote Workers' Layoff Suit

By Carolina Bolado

A Florida federal judge said Tuesday that a proposed class of remote employees did not have to be noticed under the WARN Act, handing an aviation company an early win in a suit by terminated employees who claimed they were abruptly fired in violation of the federal law.

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Ex-Delta Flight Attendant Says Post-Arrest Firing Unlawful

By David Aaro

Delta Airlines Inc. violated federal law when it fired a flight attendant without conducting a full investigation after a racially charged confrontation at a Marriott hotel in Savannah landed her in jail, according to a lawsuit from the former worker.

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7th Circ. Skeptical Of Reviving License Plate Surveillance Suit

By Lauraann Wood

A Seventh Circuit panel seemed skeptical Tuesday that it should revive two Cook County residents' lawsuit claiming the Illinois State Police subject residents to unconstitutional searches through automatic license plate reading cameras whose data is saved for months.

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Feds Seek To Throw Out States' Challenge To DEI Contract EO

By Ganesh Setty

The Trump administration told a Maryland federal court that it should toss a lawsuit from states challenging its implementation of an executive order targeting diversity, equity and inclusion practices in the government contracting space, arguing the order falls within well-settled law.

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Insurers Must Cover $65M Crash Verdict, Towing Co. Says

By Hope Patti

A towing company told a Colorado state court that a construction equipment company's insurers must cover a $65 million excess verdict entered against it in a wrongful death action over a crash in which an excavator it was towing struck a highway overpass and sent concrete through a woman's windshield.

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Qualcomm Presses High Court To Ignore FedEx RPI Dispute

By Adam Lidgett

Qualcomm wants the U.S. Supreme Court to skip a bid from FedEx to examine the Federal Circuit's refusal to review whether the technology company complied with real-party-in-interest requirements in a patent challenge, arguing the same type of dispute won't likely come up again.

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Species 'Harm' Definition Rollback Brings Risk For Developers

A rule recently adopted by federal agencies rescinds the definition of "harm" in Endangered Species Act regulations to exclude habitat destruction — but while the move is aimed at reducing regulatory burdens, it creates new uncertainty for developers, and may trigger increased environmental protections in California, say attorneys at Cox Castle.

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3rd Circ. Affirms Thomson Reuters' Westlaw AI Copyright Win

By Ivan Moreno

The Third Circuit on Tuesday upheld Thomson Reuters' victory against Ross Intelligence Inc. in the first U.S. appellate ruling to address whether artificial intelligence training can be fair use of copyrighted material, upholding a Delaware federal court's decision that the startup infringed Westlaw headnotes by using material derived from them to develop an AI-powered legal search tool.

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11th Circ. Won't Pause Sanctions Against Trump In IRS Case

By Jack McLoone

An Eleventh Circuit panel refused Tuesday to pause a district court's sanctions order barring President Donald Trump and others from citing the agreement he made to settle his $10 billion suit against the Internal Revenue Service while they appeal the order.

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DC Circ. Weighs Limits On Boasberg's Contempt Inquiry

By Jared Foretek

A top Justice Department official told an en banc D.C. Circuit panel that a district judge should refer former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem for contempt over the 2025 deportation flights to El Salvador and move on, saying the judge had no authority to wrap others into his inquiry.

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Jack Smith Says He Won't Be Intimidated By Trump Threats

By Courtney Bublé

Former special counsel Jack Smith testified on Tuesday he "will not be silenced" by threats of prosecution by the president or others.

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Baker Botts Atty Disputes Inventor's Claim Of Defamation Deal

By Madison Arnold

A Baker Botts LLP patent attorney is pushing back on an inventor's claim that they reached a settlement agreement in the inventor's defamation suit in Florida federal court.

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Richards Layton Atty's Chancery Nomination Advanced

By Rose Krebs

A Delaware senate committee Tuesday advanced the nomination for a Richards Layton & Finger PA director to serve as a vice chancellor on the nationally important Chancery Court, with him vowing to continue the court's esteemed legacy for corporate law jurisprudence.

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