American Airlines Escapes Flight Attendants' OT Suit

By Matthew Santoni

Federal law preempts a proposed class action over American Airlines flight attendants' allegedly unpaid overtime before and after flights, since the time flight attendants are paid for is governed by their collective bargaining agreements, a Pennsylvania federal judge ruled Monday.

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Seattle Fights Uber, Instacart Bid To Undo 9th Circ. Gig Ruling

By Benjamin Morse

The city of Seattle urged the Ninth Circuit not to revisit a panel decision backing its app-based worker deactivation ordinance against a First Amendment challenge from Uber and Instacart, arguing the companies are trying to turn an ordinary worker protection law into a speech case.

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First Brands Pitches New Ch. 11 Plan To Avoid Liquidation

By Alex Wittenberg

Car parts maker First Brands Group on Monday touted a new Chapter 11 plan in Texas bankruptcy court about two weeks after a judge denied its bid to take votes on its previous effort, saying the new version gives creditors more time to vote and encompasses all the First Brands debtors instead of just one.

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American Airlines Says Couple's Arrest Claims Not Contractual

By Mike Curley

American Airlines Inc. is urging a Texas federal court to dismiss a suit from a couple alleging it wrongly had them arrested and put on a no-fly list, saying their claims are largely unsupported by facts, self-contradictory, or not causes of action under Texas law.

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Southwest Asks Texas Judge To Ground Pilot Union's Suit

By Spencer Brewer

Southwest Airlines told a Texas federal judge that a pilot union's lawsuit can't advance under the Railway Labor Act, saying it had the right to discipline a pilot who fell short of standards. 

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Archer Can't Ditch Trimmed Joby Air Taxi Trade Secrets Suit

By Linda Chiem

A California federal judge has said Joby Aviation can forge ahead with a pared-down lawsuit alleging rival electric air taxi developer Archer Aviation misappropriated its trade secrets, but has tossed Archer's "shotgun pleadings" counterclaims alleging Joby misclassified imports to evade tariffs and concealed its China ties.

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High Court Won't Hear Ex-GM Worker's Disability Bias Suit

By Patrick Hoff

The U.S. Supreme Court declined Monday to take up a former General Motors employee's suit alleging the company wouldn't move her to a different position after an on-the-job injury, leaving in place a Fifth Circuit ruling that found she hadn't shown she could perform an open role.

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Brief

VW Settles Suit Over 2nd-Degree Burns From Seat Heater

By Mike Curley

Volkswagen AG has settled a suit from a paraplegic woman who alleged that the seat heaters in one of VW's vehicles were too hot to be safe and left her with second-degree burns, ending the case on the eve of trial.

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Warranty Seller Wins Injunction For Rival's Deceptive Calls

By Lauraann Wood

An Illinois federal judge has enjoined a Chicago-area extended auto warranty service's rival from violating trademark and competition laws in a dispute over its allegedly deceptive customer calls and web impersonation, saying the company is likely to prove the conduct was illegal.

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Auto Lender, NY Near Deal To End 'Predatory' Loan Suit

By Jon Hill

Subprime auto lender Credit Acceptance Corp. and New York's attorney general are closer to settling the rest of an enforcement lawsuit the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau dropped out of last year, according to New York federal court filings.

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Port Of Tacoma Deal Ends Pollution Row With Enviro Group

By Elaine Briseño

The Port of Tacoma and the Puget Soundkeeper Alliance have reached a tentative agreement to resolve their long-running dispute over wastewater regulation enforcement, with the Washington port agreeing to pay $3.9 million for cleanup, attorney fees and research.

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Ariz. Authorizes Special Tax Districts To Fund Infrastructure

By Zak Kostro

Arizona authorized the formation of special taxing districts to fund infrastructure projects with revenue from property taxes and other sources under a bill signed by the governor.

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A Changing Road Map For Trucking Fatigue Litigation

Trucking fatigue is undergoing a quiet but substantial transition, as juries expect an affirmative duty by the motor carrier to keep the public safe and emerging technology increases carrier accountability, says John Thomas at Farah & Farah.

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Gibson Dunn, PE Firm Pay Charity $1M For Knicks VIP Seats

By Dorothy Atkins

Gibson Dunn and private equity firm Veritas Capital split the $1 million winning bid for two "Celebrity Row" seats in a Knicks fundraiser ahead of Game 3 of the NBA Finals between the New York Knicks and the San Antonio Spurs, the team's parent company announced Monday.

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Groom Law Joins Firms Matching New Milbank Associate Pay

By Tracey Read

Washington, D.C.-based Groom Law Group is the latest firm to match a new pay scale for associates that was set earlier this month by Milbank LLP, according to media reports Monday.

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9th Circ. Judge Faces Inquiry, Charges After Idaho Altercation

By Lauren Berg

The Ninth Circuit on Monday identified a judicial misconduct complaint against U.S. Circuit Judge Ryan D. Nelson after he was charged with misdemeanor battery stemming from an argument in an Idaho Falls parking lot that ended with him allegedly stomping a man's eyeglasses on the asphalt.

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Analysis

How A Texas Pastor Beat Mark Zuckerberg In Landmark Trial

By Craig Clough

Jurors who reached a landmark $6 million verdict in March finding Meta Platforms Inc. and Google liable for harming a teen's mental health didn't find Mark Zuckerberg credible, an impression that the plaintiff's attorney Mark Lanier credited to putting the well-prepared executive off his guard.

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King & Spalding May Be Sanctioned In $300M Fraud Lawsuit

By Aaron Keller

Two King & Spalding LLP partners face a sanctions hearing in a $300 million fraud lawsuit to determine whether they violated a rule requiring candor to the tribunal by falsely claiming attorneys for other parties were copied on letters to two Connecticut jurists, according to two state court orders.

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Another Lawmaker Joins Impeachment Push For Ga. Judge

By Courtney Bublé

A Republican House member on Monday introduced articles of impeachment for U.S. District Judge Eleanor Ross of the Northern District of Georgia after she was reprimanded for having sex with a police officer in her chambers within earshot of staff.

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Colorado Gov. Signs Bill Banning Fee Sharing With Non-Attys

By Emma Cueto

Colorado has enacted a ban on lawyers sharing fees with nonlawyer-owned firms, such as alternative businesses in Arizona, as well as a prohibition on deals with managed services organizations that involve paying a percentage of firm income.

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Brief

Todd Blanche Officially Nominated To Be AG

By Courtney Bublé

President Donald Trump on Monday officially nominated Todd Blanche to be attorney general.

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Trump Taps DC Appeals Court Picks To Fill Final Vacancies

By Courtney Bublé

President Donald Trump has announced two picks for the D.C. Court of Appeals, which will fill the remaining vacancies on the District of Columbia's top court.

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Mich. Dems Back Trump Judicial Pick After Blue-Slip Review

By Courtney Bublé

Michigan's Democratic U.S. senators, Gary Peters and Elissa Slotkin, announced on Monday they've returned their blue slips for the nomination of Michael Martin, a veteran career prosecutor, to be a judge in the Eastern District of Michigan.

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Chapman Law School Dean Says He Was Fired For Being Gay

By Hailey Konnath

The former dean of Chapman University's Dale E. Fowler School of Law says the university unlawfully fired him because he's gay and married to a man, according to a complaint filed in California state court.

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NJ Senators Advance Litigation Funding Disclosure Bill

By Carla Baranauckas

New Jersey state senators on Monday advanced legislation that would require disclosure of third-party litigation funding agreements over the objections of trial lawyers and litigation finance representatives, who warned that the bill could discourage funding for plaintiffs involved in costly cases.

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Law Student's Kirk Comment Discipline Stays During Appeal

By Spencer Brewer

A Texas federal judge on Monday kept intact a reprimand against a law student who allegedly celebrated following the death of Charlie Kirk during an appeal, saying that the student "again seeks the wrong remedy" in her request.

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100+ Ex-Prosecutors Question Chicago US Atty's Leadership

By Celeste Bott

More than 100 former Illinois federal prosecutors issued a statement Monday saying there's been a "failure of leadership" in the U.S. attorney's office in Chicago and that "once-forbidden political considerations are infecting prosecutorial decisions" in the wake of an Illinois federal judge accusing the office of mishandling grand jury proceedings in a case against six immigration activists.

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SCOTUSblog Founder Goldstein's Sentencing Delayed To July

By Jared Foretek

A Maryland federal judge has agreed to push SCOTUSblog founder Thomas Goldstein's sentencing to July, after federal prosecutors speculated that his defense attorneys might come to the previously scheduled June hearing and declare that they aren't ready to proceed.

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Titan Of The Plaintiffs Bar: Lieff Cabraser's Elizabeth Cabraser

By Emily Field

When Elizabeth Cabraser began working with Robert Lieff as a clerk at his small practice in Northern California in the late 1970s, fresh out of law school, her job was to help him dispose of his remaining cases so he could retire early and become a winemaker.

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