Boeing, Supplier Get Punitive Damages Cut In Door Plug Suit

By Tom Lotshaw

A Washington federal judge ruled Boeing and supplier Spirit AeroSystems do not have to face punitive damages claims from a mother and son who sued them over a midair door plug blowout on a flight departing from Oregon.

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Deal Staves Off Trial In Snapchat Speed Filter Suit

By David Aaro

Snapchat's parent company and a Georgia man who alleged the app's speed filter feature contributed to a 2015 car wreck that left him seriously injured have reached a settlement, according to a court filing that came two weeks before their legal battle was slated for trial.

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Detroit Lions Can't Sack 'Motor City Muscle' TM Claims

By Susan Smiley

A Michigan federal judge on Tuesday trimmed U.S. Events LLC's lawsuit against the Detroit Lions, but ruled that the team must face claims of trademark infringement and unfair competition over its use of the company's protected "Motor City Muscle" slogan to promote its jerseys.

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Calif. Man Sues Rivian Over Cannabis Test Firing, Wages

By Mike Curley

A Sacramento man is suing electric vehicle maker Rivian LLC in California state court, alleging he was wrongly fired after a cannabis test despite not being impaired or otherwise using cannabis at work, and that the company has not fully paid out his wages.

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Trucking Group Tells DC Circ. Fee System Doesn't Deliver

By Jared Foretek

A trucking trade group is challenging the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's interstate motor carrier fees for 2027, claiming in a new D.C. Circuit petition that the agency never lawfully established the fee-setting system by regulation.

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Guo Trustee Says No Circuit Split Threatens $24M Yacht Win

By Aaron Keller

A Chapter 11 trustee urged the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday to reject a bid by Chinese exile Miles Guo's daughter to undo rulings placing $24 million in yacht sale proceeds plus a $37 million escrow into the bankruptcy estate, disputing allegations that a circuit split warrants the justices' attention.

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Utah Defends Approval Process For Northern Corridor Hwy

By Gautama Mehta

A Utah county and a state agency said the law that designated a Mojave Desert national conservation area didn't prohibit a highway through it, as environmental groups alleged, but rather expressly called for a "transportation route" to be identified.

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X Says OpenAI Can't Nix IPhone Placement Antitrust Case

By Bryan Koenig

X Corp. and SpaceXAI urged a Texas federal judge Wednesday not to let OpenAI scrap their lawsuit targeting a deal integrating ChatGPT into Apple devices, arguing any attempts to paint the deal as nonexclusive or show it hasn't completely foreclosed the market are factual disputes left to the jury.

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Brief

Via, RideCo Settle Ride-Hailing IP Case After $4M Judgment

By Elliot Weld

Canadian ride-hailing software startup RideCo Inc. said Wednesday that it had reached a settlement with rival Via Transportation to close a patent infringement case after a jury issued a $1.4 million award to Via that was later boosted to $4 million.

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EPA Rollback Puts Power Plant GHG Rules In Flux

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's recent actions on power plant greenhouse gas emissions create immediate implications for power plant operators and long-term regulatory uncertainty, while raising questions about the relationship between federal and state approaches to climate-related litigation, say attorneys at Van Ness Feldman.

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New Weil-Willkie Domains Add To Merger Speculation

By Marialuisa Taddia

Two domain names that combine the names of Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP and Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP have been registered, fueling speculation about a potential merger between the two prominent Wall Street law firms.

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Bonus Spotlight

Hueston Hennigan Bumps Clerkship Bonus To $205K

By Lynn LaRowe

Trial boutique Hueston Hennigan is offering a $205,000 bonus to lawyers who have completed one or more federal clerkships, the firm confirmed Thursday.

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Texas Judge Probe Shows Lack Of Mental Impairment Process

By Jack Karp

Fifth Circuit officials have done a reasonable job of handling a rare situation involving a Texas federal judge who appears to be undergoing a mental health crisis, but the episode highlights that a more standardized way of dealing with federal judges experiencing mental impairment needs to be established, experts and scholars say.

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Jackson Walker Hits Back At Fee Clawback Sanction Move

By Vince Sullivan

Law firm Jackson Walker said Wednesday that it should not be sanctioned for failing to bring to a Texas federal judge's attention additional cases involving an undisclosed romantic relationship between a bankruptcy judge and one of its attorneys because the U.S. Trustee already investigated those cases and didn't take action.

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GOP Reps. Seek Probe Of Fla. Judge's Sanctions Order

By Courtney Bublé

Top Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee asked the Judicial Conference Thursday to investigate a Florida federal judge for potential misconduct with an order she issued in the case involving the leak of President Donald Trump's tax returns.

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JPMorgan, Ex-Frank Execs Clash Over $2.1M In Legal Fees

By Jarek Rutz

JPMorgan Chase & Co. faced renewed demands in the Delaware Chancery Court on Thursday to pay about $2.1 million in withheld legal fees for convicted Frank founder Charlie Javice and former executive Olivier Amar, as their lawyers accused the bank of using repeated billing objections to delay funding for their criminal defenses.

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Roundup MDL Atty Fund 'Cries Out' For Review, 9th Circ. Told

By Dorothy Atkins

Plaintiffs' firms urged the Ninth Circuit to reverse a ruling Thursday requiring them to contribute 8% of their recovery fees to a common benefit fund in multidistrict litigation over Monsanto's Roundup weed killer, arguing the judge ignored a special master's recommendation and the issue "cries out for some appellate supervision."

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