US Backs Alaska In High Court Fight Over Plane Forfeiture

By Linda Chiem

The federal government has told the U.S. Supreme Court that Alaska is well within its right to confiscate "instrumentalities of crime" and the state's attempted forfeiture of an 83-year-old bush pilot's $95,000 plane for transporting a six-pack of beer to a dry village wasn't excessive.

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Havana Docks Wants $440M Cruise Cos. Judgment Revived

By Joyce Hanson

The Eleventh Circuit is taking up a case on remand from the U.S. Supreme Court related to a $440 million judgment against four cruise companies for trafficking in property seized by Cuba, with ex-concessionaire Havana Docks Corp. arguing a lower court decision should be reinstated.

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4 Questions After US, China Announce Tariff Shield

By Dylan Moroses

The U.S. and China's recent announcement that they will shield a subset of goods from tariff actions and extend a trade truce is welcome by importers and advisers, though those stakeholders recognize more substantive policy outcomes between the world's two largest economies continue to face obstacles. Here, Law360 looks at four questions on the subject.

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Union Seeks Early Exit In Lockheed Guard's Firing Suit

By Katherine Smith

A union urged a Connecticut federal court to toss a former security officer's claims that it improperly declined to arbitrate his grievance over his termination from Sikorsky Aircraft and parent company Lockheed Martin Corp., claiming he failed to show the union breached its duty to fairly represent him.

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EV Charging Co. To Pay Investors $4M In Liquidity Woes Suit

By Sydney Price

Bankrupt electric-vehicle charging infrastructure company Charge Enterprises Inc. has agreed to pay $4 million to resolve an investor's proposed class action alleging the company and its executives concealed a liquidity crisis involving the founder and his investment advisory firm before the company's downfall.

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Auto Parts Shop's Inventory Claim Barred By Other Coverage

By Danielle Ferguson

A Michigan federal judge said an aftermarket auto parts seller cannot seek coverage for expenses associated with inventory damaged by a rainwater leak because one of the company's policies bars coverage for items covered by another insurer.

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State Farm Says Insureds' $7M Fee Bid Ignores Case Losses

By Ben Adlin

State Farm urged a Seattle federal judge to slash policyholders' bid for attorney fees in two class actions in which the insurer was found liable for shortchanging customers on payouts for totaled vehicles, contending the plaintiffs' nearly $7 million in requested fees should be pared down to $1.9 million.

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Pa. County Urges Appeals Court To Revive Climate Suit

By Keith Goldberg

A Pennsylvania county's lawsuit that accuses oil companies of concealing the impacts of fossil fuels on climate change isn't preempted by federal law and should be revived, a state appellate court heard Wednesday.

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What Lawyers Should Know Before Accepting Crypto Payment

As clients increasingly request to pay legal fees, retainers and escrow funds using cryptocurrency, lawyers should consider how only a handful of state bar authorities have addressed the issue with varying ethics opinions, as well as the related questions that no authority has yet answered, says attorney Felix Shipkevich.

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Cyber Incident Halts Bankruptcy Court Noticing Nationwide

By Hilary Russ

The nationwide system for providing notice to creditors in bankruptcy cases has been disrupted by a cybersecurity incident, and it is not currently known when the outage will end.

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Analysis

Missouri AG Alumni Make Their Mark In Trump 2.0

By Courtney Bublé

Missouri is hundreds of miles from Washington, D.C., but the legal community of the Show-Me State has taken a significant hold in the second Trump administration.

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Norton Rose Beats $100M Suit Over Withdrawn Patent App

By Celeste Bott

Norton Rose Fulbright has defeated a former client's malpractice suit over a missed patent fee payment, after an Illinois state judge ruled that the deadline to sue began before the firm allegedly acknowledged its mistake and dismissed the company's $100 million lawsuit against the firm with prejudice.

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Murdaugh Tells 4th Circ. To Revive Jury Tampering Civil Suit

By Cara Salvatore

Disgraced lawyer Alex Murdaugh asked the Fourth Circuit on Thursday to revive his suit accusing a court clerk of interfering in his murder trial, arguing he has standing because the alleged tampering "destroyed the value" of his $600,000 defense.

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Judge Who Called For Philly DA Probe Rejects Recusal Bid

By Matthew Santoni

A federal judge who called for an investigation of the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office will not reconsider or recuse himself from the underlying habeas corpus case, calling DA Larry Krasner's bid to undo his rulings "frivolous" and "intemperate."

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Crowell Faces DQ Bid Over AI Tool At Heart Of Client's IP Suit

By Dorothy Atkins

DeviantArt urged a California federal judge Wednesday to disqualify Crowell & Moring LLP from representing Evox Productions in litigation alleging multiple AI companies used Evox's copyrighted car photos to train artificial-intelligence image generators, arguing the firm "unquestionably" represented DeviantArt and has "sued its own client on behalf of another client."

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Gov't Urges Justices To Reject Google, Intel Fight Over Fintiv

By Adam Lidgett

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has urged the U.S. Supreme Court to reject Intel Corp. and Google LLC's challenge to a precedent allowing Patent Trial and Appeal Board petitions to be denied based on related litigation.

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Would-Be Kavanaugh Assassin Slams Feds' Skewed Facts

By Lauren Berg

A woman accused of trying to kill U.S. Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh told the Fourth Circuit that federal prosecutors have presented a "wildly inaccurate description" of a Maryland federal judge's sentencing decision, rejecting their argument that she got off too easy because of her gender identity.

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NYC Sanctuary Policies Survive Trump Admin. Lawsuit

By Rae Ann Varona

A New York federal judge on Thursday tossed the Trump administration's lawsuit challenging New York City policies that the administration alleged unconstitutionally obstruct federal immigration enforcement, saying federal law the administration leaned on does not preempt the sanctuary provisions.

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