VW Beats 'Clean Diesel' NY Shareholder Derivative Suit

By Linda Chiem

A New York state trial court has thrown out a shareholder derivative suit seeking to hold current and former Volkswagen AG supervisory board members and executives in Germany liable for perpetrating the 2015 emissions cheating scandal, saying the dispute doesn't belong in the Empire State.

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Fiat Chrysler Loses 'Absurd' Arb. Bid In Defect Suit At 9th Circ.

By Dorothy Atkins

A Ninth Circuit panel has rejected Fiat Chrysler's request to send a certified class action over allegedly defective Jeep and Dodge headrests to arbitration, finding that FCA's theory would lead to "absurd" results in which third parties with "no connection whatsoever to the underlying arbitration agreement" could force arbitration.

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Boeing, Bell Textron Get Fatal Osprey Crash Suit Tossed

By Mike Curley

A Pennsylvania federal judge has dismissed without prejudice a suit from the families of eight U.S. service members killed in a V-22 Osprey crash in November 2023, saying their claims against The Boeing Co., Bell Textron Inc. and Universal Stainless & Alloy Products Inc. have to proceed under the Death on the High Seas Act, not through state law.

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Norfolk Southern Must Face Jury On Age Bias Claims

By Chart Riggall

An Alabama federal judge rejected Georgia-based Norfolk Southern's bid to shut down a suit from a longtime rail worker who said he was forced out of his job due to his age, ruling that there was "ample evidence" to send the case to a jury.

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Volkswagen Doubted In Bid To Defeat Seat Heater Burns Case

By Rachel Riley

A Washington federal judge hinted on Wednesday that a jury will probably need to weigh in on an Evergreen State resident's product liability claims against Volkswagen over second-degree burns allegedly caused by a vehicle seat heater, saying there's evidence that the subject heater reached "potentially unsafe" temperatures.

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Teamsters, United Defeat Bid To Revive Suit Over Pay Formula

By Benjamin Morse

A memorandum alleging union misconduct and claims that a union representative may have simultaneously worked for United Airlines do not justify reopening a lawsuit accusing the airline and the Teamsters of underpaying workers, a California federal judge ruled.

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Juror Nondisclosure Can't Trigger Crash Retrial, Panel Says

By Y. Peter Kang

A car crash plaintiff who sought $1 million in damages but was awarded only $20,000 can't get a new trial because of juror misconduct, a Florida state appeals court ruled Wednesday, saying a juror's lengthy legal history could have been easily uncovered online.

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NJ Car Dealer Accused Of Picking Pricey 401(k) Funds

By Carla Baranauckas

Holman Automotive Group Inc. was slapped with a proposed class action in New Jersey federal court accusing the company and unidentified plan fiduciaries of breaching their duties under ERISA by saddling employees with unnecessarily expensive retirement plan investments that allegedly drained more than $1 million from workers' savings.

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FedEx Says NY Attys And Medical Providers Staged Crashes

By Hope Patti

FedEx accused a network of lawyers, medical providers and clinics of orchestrating an insurance scam in which they staged motor vehicle accidents in order to defraud the delivery giant through sham lawsuits and inflated medical bills, according to a suit filed in New York federal court.

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Prudential Can't Enforce 'Illusory' Policy, Beneficiaries Say

By Hope Patti

The beneficiaries of two pilots who died in a plane crash said a Prudential insurer can't escape their suit seeking accidental death and dismemberment benefits under an aviation company's life insurance plan, telling a Washington federal court that the policy departs from the industry standard because it is "illusory."

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The 2026 Law360 Pulse Lawyer Satisfaction Survey

How is your work-life balance? Are you content with your compensation and opportunities for advancement at work? Take the 2026 Law360 Lawyer Satisfaction Survey and share your thoughts.

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Lewis Brisbois Accused Of Ignoring Racism, Unethical Billing

By Aebra Coe

A former national billing director of Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith LLP filed a lawsuit in California state court this week accusing the firm of ignoring racist conduct and sexual harassment by partners, and alleging unethical billing practices and even embezzlement.

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Trump Picks Ohio Ex-Solicitor General For 6th Circ.

By Courtney Bublé

President Donald Trump announced Thursday evening that he is tapping Benjamin Flowers, former solicitor general of Ohio, to serve on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.

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DOJ Calls Immigrant Legal Aid Wasteful In Budget Push

By Courtney Bublé

Tucked into the Trump administration's budget request for fiscal 2027, the U.S. Department of Justice is trying once again to take an ax to a program that provides legal assistance to noncitizens.

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Analysis

Calif. AI Guardrails Split From Feds, Other States May Follow

By Madeline Lyskawa

California Gov. Gavin Newsom's recent executive order directing state agencies to implement guardrails for contracting with artificial intelligence companies marks a rift with the Trump administration's deregulatory approach that could proliferate across other states.

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Fed. Circ. Chief Feels 'Bright-Line Rule Coming' For IP Marking

By Dani Kass

As a Federal Circuit panel reprimanded embattled attorney William Ramey on Thursday for the "disrespect" shown in his failed 3D glasses patent litigation against Volkswagen, the Federal Circuit's chief judge suggested precedent may be needed to define the role of marking in admissionless settlements.

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'Mark Of Autocracy': Court Says Pentagon Defied Press Order

By Lauren Berg

The U.S. Department of Defense has not complied with a court order barring the Pentagon from taking press passes away from journalists who report on matters not authorized by the government, a D.C. federal judge ruled Thursday, saying the department's revised rules "achieve that same unconstitutional result."

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Trade Secrets Suit Is A 'Far-Flung Conspiracy,' Law Firm Says

By Adam Lidgett

A Georgia law firm wants a Nevada federal court to throw out a lawsuit accusing it of stealing trade secrets from litigation lead generator Archetype Capital Partners, calling the whole case "a far-flung conspiracy."

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MMA Law Accuses Lawyer, Insurance Co. Of RICO Scheme

By Emily Sawicki

Embattled Texas firm MMA Law has filed nearly a score of complaints amid an ongoing bankruptcy action, including accusing a Louisiana attorney, his wife and an insurer of working together to "target, dismantle and destroy" the firm in an effort to avoid sharing a cut of legal fees stemming from storm damage claims.

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