Analysis

Freight Brokers Brace For New Risks After High Court Ruling

By Linda Chiem

The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday shattered what freight brokers believed was an ironclad shield against state-based negligence and injury claims over catastrophic accidents, as the trucking industry's middlemen face heightened legal exposure and question what reasonable care means in selecting motor carriers for a transport, experts say.

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Justices Say Freight Brokers Can Face Negligence Suits

By Linda Chiem

The U.S. Supreme Court said Thursday that freight brokers might also be liable under state law for selecting unsafe motor carriers that then get into highway crashes that kill or injure people, offering long-sought clarity on liability standards in a commercial trucking industry unnerved by supersized verdicts against carriers and drivers.

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FCA Can't Shut Down EEOC Sex Harassment Suit

By Grace Elletson

A Michigan federal judge declined to toss a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission sex harassment suit against automaker FCA, finding enough details supported the agency's claims that male workers inappropriately touched and sexualized female colleagues at a Detroit plant.

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Judge Recommends Cert. In United Airlines Unit OT Suit

By Benjamin Morse

Current and former employees of a United Airlines subsidiary providing cleaning services on planes can proceed as a class in their lawsuit alleging overtime pay violations tied to shift trades, a Colorado federal magistrate judge has recommended, finding the claims stem from a uniform pay policy.

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Alaska Flew Into Violent Turbulence, Injured Passenger Says

By Ben Adlin

An Alaska Airlines Inc. passenger who claims she was injured when her plane encountered turbulence and suddenly plummeted 200 feet sued the carrier in Washington state court Wednesday, accusing dispatchers and pilots of negligently steering the plane into danger despite repeated weather warnings.

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Fed. Circ. Upholds Mercedes, VW Headlight Patent Wins

By Adam Lidgett

The Federal Circuit on Thursday rejected an Israeli inventor's attempts to revive claims in a trio of patents covering adaptive headlights, handing wins to German automakers Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen and Porsche.

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Brief

United Airlines' $27.5M ERISA Suit Deal Gets Initial OK

By Patrick Hoff

United Airlines on Thursday secured initial approval from an Illinois federal court for a $27.5 million settlement agreement that would resolve claims that it locked retired employees out of a generous COVID-19-era benefits package.

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Brookfield To Acquire World Freight In $1.2B Deal

By Al Barbarino

Brookfield has agreed to acquire global air freight services provider World Freight Co. from PAI Partners and EQT's BPEA Private Equity Fund VI, the companies announced Thursday. 

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3 Firms Steer Iridium, Aireon On $367M Aviation Satellite Deal

By Al Barbarino

Iridium Communications Inc. said Thursday it has agreed to acquire the remaining stake in Aireon LLC for nearly $367 million, consolidating full ownership of the space-based aircraft surveillance provider in a deal steered by three law firms.

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FDIC Signs Off On Stellantis Industrial Bank Bid

By Jon Hill

Stellantis, the company behind Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge cars, has received Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. clearance to open a U.S. industrial bank, a move that will put all of Detroit's "Big Three" automakers on track to own federally insured lenders.

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EPA Proposes Delaying Biden-Era Vehicle Emissions Regs

By Gautama Mehta

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency proposed a two-year extension on Thursday for the compliance deadline for Biden-era vehicle emissions standards, saying the policy was based on an overestimation of electric vehicle demand.

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Volkswagen Hit With Class Claims Over EV Battery Fire Risk

By Carla Baranauckas

Volkswagen has been hit with a proposed class action in New Jersey federal court alleging that tens of thousands of its ID.4 electric vehicles contain defective high-voltage batteries that can spontaneously catch fire because of misaligned electrodes.

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Honda Buyers Say 440K Odysseys Have Faulty Side Airbags

By Gina Kim

Honda hid safety defects for years in its 2018-2022 Odyssey minivans where side airbag systems would suddenly deploy when traveling on flat roads, slowing down to a stop or going over a speed bump, according to a proposed class action filed in California federal court.

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First Brands Can't Pay Administrative Costs, Watchdog Says

By Rick Archer

The U.S. Trustee's Office is asking a Texas bankruptcy judge to convert First Brand's Chapter 11 case to a Chapter 7 liquidation, saying the auto-parts maker admitted in its proposed restructuring plan it cannot pay the expenses it has incurred during the case on time.

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Railroads Say Taxing Train But Not Truck Fuel Violates Law

By Kelcey Caulder

Norfolk Southern and CSX Transportation told a Georgia federal court in a lawsuit against the state Department of Revenue and its commissioner that the state's suspension of an excise tax on highway diesel fuel without extending the suspension to locomotive diesel fuel is "discriminatory taxation" that must be enjoined.

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Squires Ends IPR After Railway Co. Surrenders Patent Claim

By Dani Kass

U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Director John Squires has de-instituted a Patent Trial and Appeal Board review after National Steel Car Ltd. disclaimed the only parts of its patent the board thought could be invalid, saying they should "be treated as though they never existed."

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Guidelines For Tariff Offsets Treat Truck Parts Like Auto Parts

By Jack McLoone

Imported parts used in manufacturing various trucks are treated like automobile parts in guidelines that the U.S. International Trade Administration issued Thursday for U.S. manufacturers of medium- and heavy-duty vehicles looking to qualify for a program that allows a discount on duties paid for such parts.

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Gov't Asks 6th Circ. To Reverse FedEx's $89M Tax Credit Win

By Natalie Olivo

The U.S. government urged the Sixth Circuit to reverse a Tennessee federal court's decision that invalidated foreign tax credit regulations and allowed FedEx an $89 million refund, arguing that the rules reflect Congress' intent to prevent windfalls under the 2017 tax overhaul.

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Squires Walks Back 5 More IPR Grants Over Inconsistent Args

By Theresa Schliep

U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Director John Squires has reversed earlier decisions granting five petitions for patent review, citing what he called the challengers' inconsistent positions in parallel proceedings and explaining that four petitions he denied in previous bulk orders were also rejected for the same reasons. 

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House Passes Bill To Narrow Biofuel Blending Exemption

By Gautama Mehta

The U.S. House of Representatives has passed a bill that would lift summertime restrictions on the sale of higher-ethanol fuel and tighten requirements for a biofuel blending exemption for small refineries.

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7th Circ. Presses Trans CTA Driver On Bias Evidence

By Celeste Bott

A Seventh Circuit panel Thursday pressed counsel for a former Chicago Transit Authority bus driver on whether the record showed he was fired because he is transgender, rather than because he failed to follow procedures for taking leave, as he seeks to revive discrimination claims against the agency and union.

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Black Ex-Transit Cop Commander Accuses Agency Of Bias

By Rachel Konieczny

Denver's Regional Transportation District racially discriminated against its former transit police department commander because he is Black and employs a practice of discriminating against other Black officers, the former commander alleged in Colorado federal court.

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High Court Must End Colo. Climate Suit, Oil Cos. Say

By Ganesh Setty

Suncor Energy and ExxonMobil urged the U.S. Supreme Court Thursday to reverse a Colorado Supreme Court ruling allowing local communities to pursue state law tort claims for climate change damages, arguing their claims are "avowedly interstate and international in scope."

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Blank Rome Adds Husch Blackwell's Dallas Leader

By Lynn LaRowe

Blank Rome LLP has added a former Husch Blackwell LLP lawyer to its finance, restructuring and bankruptcy practice in Dallas as the firm continues to strengthen its investment in the north Texas market.

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Series

Playing Basketball Makes Me A Better Lawyer

My grandfather used to say "I wear your jersey" as shorthand for wholly committing to support someone with loyalty and integrity — ideals that have shaped my life on the basketball court and in legal practice, says Tracy Schimelfenig at Schimelfenig Legal.

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Analysis

Insider Trading Case Shows BigLaw Associate Vetting Gaps

By Chris Villani

A BigLaw attorney who was able to move through three major firms while allegedly orchestrating a massive insider trading scheme may have been aided by relatively loose hiring practices for associates that firms may consider strengthening moving forward, recruiting experts told Law360.

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DOJ Asserts Broad Power In BigLaw Executive Order Appeal

By Jared Foretek

A Trump administration attorney told the D.C. Circuit on Thursday that the courts have no authority to review the president's decision to revoke someone's security clearance for any reason, including race, religion, or even refusal to pay a $1 million bribe.

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Trump's 8th Circ. Pick Clears Senate Panel Vote

By Courtney Bublé

President Donald Trump's nominee for the Eighth Circuit, who represented the president in the cases brought by writer E. Jean Carroll, advanced to the full Senate on Thursday.

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Thomas Urges Defense Of Constitution At Judicial Conference

By Carolina Bolado

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas urged attendees at the Eleventh Circuit Judicial Conference on Thursday to "stand up" for the U.S. Constitution and to see the positives in the country, despite its flaws, on its 250th birthday.

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Fenwick Hit With FTX Suit In DC Over $525M Losses

By Emily Lever

A group of former FTX customers has sued Fenwick & West LLP in federal court in Washington over its work representing FTX from 2018 to 2022, seeking to recover more than $525 million for losses stemming from the cryptocurrency exchange's collapse.

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NYC Bar Endorses Random Audits For Law Firm Accounts

By Emily Sawicki

The New York City Bar Association's Professional Discipline Committee on Thursday threw its support behind a statewide bill to institute a random audit program for law firm financial accounts.

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Ogletree Fights Atty's Discovery Bid For DQ Push In Bias Suit

By Lynn LaRowe

A Georgia federal court should deny a bid for discovery aimed at disqualifying Ogletree Deakins Nash Smoak & Stewart PC from defending a security company against discrimination claims because the request stems from the plaintiff's lawyer's "personal grievances," the company said Thursday.

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Lover's Ex-Wife Fights Sinema's Request For Therapy Notes

By Abigail Harrison

A bid by former U.S. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona to unearth notes and communications from a therapist working with her lover's ex-wife should be summarily denied, as the ex-wife, Heather Ammel, told a North Carolina federal court Thursday that the request is a clear overreach.

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8th Circ. Backs Dismissal Of Horse Breeder's Malpractice Suit

By Tom Lotshaw

The Eighth Circuit said a federal judge was right to dismiss a malpractice suit a Minnesota horse breeder brought against Porter Wright Morris & Arthur LLP and one of its former attorneys for mishandling malpractice cases against three other firms.

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