MTA Sues Feds Over $59M In Frozen 2nd Ave. Subway Funds

By Linda Chiem

New York state transportation officials on Tuesday accused the Trump administration in federal court of wrongfully withholding $58.6 million for Manhattan's Second Avenue Subway expansion, jeopardizing yet another rail transit project in the Big Apple as an act of political retribution.

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Boeing's Appeal Bid Grounded In Bias Suit Over Bonuses

By Benjamin Morse

Boeing cannot immediately appeal to the Ninth Circuit a decision sending to state court a proposed class action accusing the aerospace company of denying a $12,000 bonus to workers on extended leave, a Washington federal judge ruled.

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Bimbo Bakeries Can't Steer Driver Suit To Arbitration

By Carolyn Muyskens

A Massachusetts federal magistrate judge won't ship to arbitration a pair of New England drivers' claims that Bimbo Bakeries USA misclassifies them as independent contractors, finding that the drivers are covered by an exception to the federal arbitration statute.

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Analysis

Trump's Pipeline Order Stokes Turf War Over Energy Permits

By Keith Goldberg

The Trump administration is taking executive power into uncharted territory by asserting it can override state law to restart a California oil pipeline, but such an expansion of presidential authority over energy infrastructure may invite skepticism from courts.

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No Accidental Death Benefits For Plane Crash, Insurer Says

By Hope Patti

The beneficiaries of two pilots who died in a 2024 plane crash are not entitled to accidental death and dismemberment benefits under an aviation company's life insurance plan, a Prudential unit said Tuesday, asking a Washington federal court to toss the beneficiaries' suit.

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Zoox Stockholders Push For Amazon Ex-Exec's Texts, Emails

By Jarek Rutz

A pair of Zoox Inc. stockholders have asked the Delaware Chancery Court to force Amazon.com Inc. to provide additional documents in litigation challenging its $1.3 billion acquisition of the self-driving vehicle startup, arguing that a former Amazon executive's communications could shed light on particulars of the allegedly conflict-tainted deal.

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Swift Says Its Truckers Are Exempt From Washington OT Law

By Ben Adlin

Trucking firm Swift Transportation urged a Washington federal court to reject a drivers' class action accusing the company of shorting them on overtime pay, arguing that drivers are exempt from Washington state's overtime laws and don't qualify for pay while off duty or in a truck's sleeper berth.

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Motorists Lose Bid To Challenge Chicago Skyway Toll Hikes

By Celeste Bott

An Illinois federal judge has dismissed for good a putative class action claiming the companies in charge of a major toll road leading into Chicago have increased certain tolls more than they're allowed under their lease agreement with the city, saying alternative routes exist, but the plaintiffs willingly paid the advertised rates and "got what they bargained for."

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10th Circ. Considers Ask For New Trial In $5M Toll Lanes Suit

By Rachel Konieczny

The Tenth Circuit on Tuesday considered a contractor's request for the court to order a new trial after a Denver federal jury awarded construction design firm Aecom $5.25 million for a contract breach in a Colorado toll lanes project, questioning the contractor's litigation strategy.

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Geico Keeps RICO, Fraud Claims In NY No-Fault Billing Suit

By Gianna Ferrarin

Two New York companies must face the majority of claims in Geico's suit alleging they exploited the state's no-fault insurance laws by fraudulently billing Geico more than $2.7 million for unnecessary durable medical equipment, a federal judge ruled Tuesday.

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How High Court Recast State Sovereign Immunity In Galette

The U.S. Supreme Court's unanimous ruling in Galette v. New Jersey Transit, asserting that the state-chartered transit agency has independent corporate personhood and sole obligation to pay judgments against it, turned on substance rather than form — and its analysis should be carefully reviewed in courthouses and statehouses, say attorneys at McCarter & English.

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Time Limit Case Highlights How Justices Apply Federal Rules

In Coney Island Auto Parts Unlimited v. Burton, the U.S. Supreme Court sided with the minority in a circuit split on when a litigant can seek relief from an allegedly void judgment — but the decision's most important lessons may be about the high court's interpretive approach to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, say attorneys at McDermott.

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Analysis

Texas Biz Court's Likely Role In Patent Fights Becoming Clear

By Dani Kass

The Texas Business Court has released its first opinion exploring when intellectual property can be used to create jurisdiction, and attorneys say the decision involving state trade secret law offers insight into when patent matters can be pursued there.

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Conn. Justices Won't Hear Ex-Alex Jones Atty's Ethics Case

By Andrea Keckley

The Connecticut Supreme Court will not hear a challenge to the two-week suspension of Alex Jones' former lawyer, leaving intact an intermediate Appellate Court decision affirming the pared-down punishment surrounding his law firm's handling of Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre victims' personal information.

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Calif. Bills Would Reform Litigation Funding, Client Recruiting

By Emily Sawicki

Two new bills introduced to the California Assembly this week seek to impose reforms on the state's legal industry, including adding mandatory disbarment for attorneys convicted of felony "capping" — or illegally paying for client recruitment — and blocking corporate litigation funders from influencing cases.

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Senator Unveils Draft AI Bill Intended To Wipe Out State Regs

By Hailey Konnath

Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., on Wednesday released a draft of proposed legislation that would override a "patchwork" of state artificial intelligence regulations, touting the proposal as protecting "children, creators, conservatives and communities" and slamming the state regulations as hindering "AI innovation."

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Biotech Investor Blames Pierce Atwood For Messy Asset Sale

By Julie Manganis

A Ukrainian billionaire who was recently ordered to pay other investors in a failed genetic testing company more than $1.8 million in damages is blaming the Pierce Atwood LLP lawyers who advised him on what a court later found to be a "fundamentally unfair" forced asset sale.

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Powell Says He Won't Make Fed Exit While Facing DOJ Probe

By Jon Hill

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said Wednesday that he will stay on as a board member of the central bank if he remains under U.S. Department of Justice investigation when his term as Fed chairman runs out this spring.

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