Pilot Plane Forfeiture Over 6-Pack Is Excessive, Justices Told

By Linda Chiem

An 83-year-old bush pilot has told the U.S. Supreme Court that Alaska flouted precedent and applied a grossly disproportionate standard by saddling him with the "ills of alcohol abuse statewide" in trying to forfeit his $95,000 plane for transporting a six-pack of beer to a dry village.

Brief attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Philly Firm Says Recent Discovery Dooms Uber's RICO Suit

By James Boyle

Philadelphia personal injury firm Simon & Simon PC has asked a Pennsylvania federal judge to dismiss Uber's complaint accusing it of orchestrating a fraudulent scheme to inflate settlements, claiming it learned through discovery that the company has not been damaged by the payouts.

Brief attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

XPO Fights 'Drastic' Sanctions In Fatal Crash Suit

By Corey Rothauser

XPO Logistics Freight Inc. told a North Carolina appeals court that a trial judge went too far by effectively deciding liability against the company in a wrongful death suit over a fatal 2023 tractor-trailer crash as a sanction for alleged discovery violations.

Brief attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Former Girardi Keese CFO Drops Appeal Of 5-Year Fraud Term

By Emily Sawicki

The Seventh Circuit has granted onetime Girardi Keese financial chief Christopher Kamon's request to drop the appeal he lodged fighting an Illinois federal judge's order adding five concurrent years onto the 10 he is already serving for his role helping Tom Girardi, the head of the firm, steal millions from plane crash clients who settled cases in Chicago.

Order attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Analysis

Judge Decries 'Gamesmanship' In Nixing EPA Waiver Moves

By Keith Goldberg

A federal judge has struck an initial blow against the Trump administration and congressional Republicans' aggressive use of the Congressional Review Act to block the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's move to make Clean Air Act waivers for California subject to potential rescission by lawmakers.

2 documents attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Teamsters Set To Shed Federal Monitors After Judge's OK

By Chris Villani

The International Brotherhood of Teamsters is slated to ease decades of government oversight meant to ferret out ties to organized crime after a New York federal judge on Thursday approved a deal between the union and the Trump administration.

Order attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

DC Circ. Won't Reconsider Argentina's $391M Arbitral Fight

By Gina Kim

The D.C. Circuit on Thursday refused to reconsider its decision affirming the enforcement of a $391 million arbitral award issued against Argentina in a 17-year-old dispute over the renationalization of its state-owned airline and denied the country's petition for a rehearing. 

Order attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Boeing Investors Say 4th Circ. Ruling Imperils Class Actions

By Katryna Perera

Boeing investors have asked the full Fourth Circuit to rehear a panel's "extreme" decision overturning class certification in a suit against the aerospace company over its alleged concealment of safety issues with its 737 Max fleet, arguing that the panel decision will create a "vague and unworkable standard" in the circuit if left intact.

Petition attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Lithia Motors Gets Trim Of 401(k) Forfeiture, Fund Suit

By Kellie Mejdrich

A California federal judge agreed to trim claims from a proposed class action against Lithia Motors alleging the car dealership company mismanaged its $1 billion employee 401(k) plan by misallocating forfeitures and offering subpar investments, while also opening discovery on some allegations in the dispute.

Order attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

PATH Transit Agency Can't Evade Worker's Medical Bill Award

By George Woolston

A New Jersey federal judge declined to alter $913,000 awarded to a Port Authority Trans-Hudson Corp. cable splicer for medical expenses after he was injured on the job, holding that the jury had a reasonable basis to reach its verdict and that the award was not excessive.

Opinion attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

3 Firms Steer Autonomous Truck Tech Co.'s $800M SPAC Deal

By Al Barbarino

Autonomous trucking technology company Plus Automation Inc. has agreed to go public through a business combination with Texas Ventures Acquisition III Corp. in a deal that values PlusAI at an $800 million pre-money equity value, the companies said Thursday.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Alaska's Izembek Road Work OK'd Despite Axed Land Swap

By Joyce Hanson

A federal judge has slapped down an environmental group's bid to preliminarily stop the state of Alaska and a Native village corporation from beginning construction on 2.8 miles of road adjacent to the Izembek National Wildlife Refuge.

2 documents attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Cities, Groups Ask Judge To Keep $3B EPA Grant Funding Alive

By Elaine Briseño

Cities and groups challenging the Environmental Protection Agency's cancellation of nearly $3 billion in environmental climate justice grants asked a South Carolina federal judge, who ruled the termination unlawful, on Wednesday to preserve the funding while the agency appeals the decision.

Motion attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Trisura Escapes Bad Faith Claim In $25M Wrongful Death Case

By Danielle Ferguson

An Illinois federal judge on Wednesday dismissed a bad faith claim against an insurer in a coverage dispute over a $25 million default judgment in a wrongful death suit, finding the estate failed to allege that the insurer rejected a chance to settle within policy limits.

Order attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Oil Cos. Seek Quick Appeal To Nix Suit Over Heat Wave Death

By Gina Kim

Exxon, Chevron, Shell and other oil giants say they plan to seek appellate review of a Washington judge's order refusing to dismiss a civil suit over a woman's 2021 death that alleged the defendants knew their products were intensifying extreme weather patterns but downplayed risks to maximize profit.  

Notice attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Brief

EPA Appeals Order To Determine Soot Standard Compliance

By Tom Lotshaw

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said it's appealing a California federal judge's decision ordering it to designate what parts of the country are meeting or not meeting new air quality standards for fine particulate matter by early February.

Notice attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

How Orbital Data Centers May Test NEPA's Reach

With environmental and scientific groups recently pushing back against the Federal Communications Commission's proposal to exempt massive data center satellite constellations from review under the National Environmental Policy Act, the question of whether NEPA even applies to projects in space turns on three closely related issues, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

Petition attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Series

Ballet Makes Me A Better Lawyer

A lifetime of learning and performing ballet taught me that success — whether in dance or practicing law — comes only through hours of thorough preparation, boundless energy and relentless effort, says Sharon Katz-Pearlman at Greenberg Traurig.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Quinn Emanuel, McDermott Hit By Data Breaches

By Lauren Berg

Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP and McDermott Will & Schulte LLP both recently suffered data breaches, adding to the dozens of cybersecurity incidents law firms in the U.S. have suffered in 2026.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Analysis

Boutique Firms Emerge As Trump Admin's 'Achilles' Heel'

By Phillip Bantz

Less fearful of retribution than some of their BigLaw counterparts, small law firms are taking on an outsize role handling cases seen as adversarial to the Trump administration.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Interview

Federal Judge Warns Threats Imperil Judicial Independence

By Carolina Bolado

U.S. District Judge Beth Bloom of the Southern District of Florida told Law360 that judges and members of the bar need to educate the public on the judiciary's important role in American democracy to combat increasing threats, speaking following the release of two reports this week that warn of safety concerns for judges and that defiance of court orders is undermining the federal judiciary's independence.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Husch Blackwell Gets Early Win In Ex-Partner's 401(k) Suit

By Andrea Keckley

A Missouri federal court granted Husch Blackwell LLP an early win over a former employee's proposed class action alleging the firm illegally withheld retirement contributions and mismanaged its employee 401(k) plan, finding the ex-partner couldn't prove violations of federal benefits law.

Order attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Pirro Urges House Ethics Panel To Refer Crime Claims To DOJ

By Courtney Bublé

U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro has told the House Ethics Committee that as cases involving criminal misconduct come before it, her office should be involved too.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Fox Rothschild Says Adult Day Care Suit Rehashes Claims

By Rose Krebs

Fox Rothschild LLP is urging a New Jersey state court to toss claims against the firm and one of its attorneys in a complaint related to the firm's prosecution of a fraudulent loan lawsuit that led to a $65,000 sanction against the firm.

2 documents attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »