NTSB's LaGuardia Crash Probe Flags Lack Of Runway Alerts

By Linda Chiem

Fire truck crew members didn't know that air traffic controllers' instructions to stop were directed at them before they collided with an Air Canada passenger jet landing at New York's LaGuardia Airport last month, and the lack of a transponder on the truck prevented a runway collision warning system from sending out alerts, the National Transportation Safety Board said Thursday.

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VW Can't Shed Paraplegic Woman's Seat Heater Burn Suit

By Mike Curley

A Washington federal judge won't let Volkswagen AG fully escape a paraplegic woman's suit alleging she was burned because of a defect in her vehicle's seat heater, finding a jury should decide whether the seat was too hot to be safe.

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11th Circ. Affirms Arbitration In Ex-Sears CEO Yacht Case

By Caroline Simson

The Eleventh Circuit affirmed much of an order compelling arbitration in the Cayman Islands of claims brought by a seaman who was injured aboard a luxury 288-foot yacht allegedly owned by billionaire and former Sears CEO Edward Lampert, saying its precedent on such matters remains good law.

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Spirit In 'Advanced' Talks With Gov't For Ch. 11 Financing

By Clara Geoghegan

Spirit Aviation is in "very advanced discussions" on a government-funded financing package after the war in Iran derailed its second Chapter 11's plans, one of the budget airline's attorneys said at a Thursday bankruptcy hearing in New York.

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9th Circ. Says New Rotor Parts Reset Clock In Crash Suit

By Mike Curley

The Ninth Circuit has reinstated a couple's suit against Robinson Helicopter Co. over the death of their daughter in a helicopter crash, finding that replacement parts for the helicopter reset the 18-year statute of repose.

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Brief

Boeing 737 Max Door Blowout Cases Merged In Wash. Court

By Jonathan Capriel

The number of passengers suing Boeing, Alaska Airlines and Spirit AeroSystems over a door plug blowout on a 737 Max airplane has grown by one, with a Washington state court consolidating a lone complaint into the larger case.

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JetBlue Charges You More Based On Your Data, Suit Says

By Nadia Dreid

JetBlue could be charging travelers more if they have a funeral to attend, according to a new lawsuit that was filed after one of the airline's social media accounts offered a customer tips on how to get a cheaper flight that included clearing their cache and booking with an incognito browser.

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Alaska Air Credit Union Left Members' Info Exposed, Suit Says

By Ben Adlin

A Las Vegas woman has lodged a proposed class action against a Washington-based credit union that provides services to Alaska Airlines employees and their families, claiming the financial institution failed to use reasonable security measures to protect members' personal data that was exposed in a cyberattack.

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Delta Used Coaching Plan To Deny Raise, Sex Bias Suit Says

By Zak Kostro

A female Delta Air Lines aviation maintenance planner working under all-male management was placed on a coaching plan that didn't apply to her male colleagues and was used to deny her a merit raise and suggest performance deficiencies that didn't exist, she said in a complaint in Georgia federal court.

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Sikorsky Says UK Co. Owes $9.8M More In Chopper Feud

By Brian Steele

A British company that is already on the hook for more than $26.3 million must pay Sikorsky International Operations Inc. an additional $9.77 million in offer-of-compromise interest after losing a lawsuit over the scrapped purchase of two helicopters, the Lockheed Martin-owned manufacturer told a Connecticut federal judge.

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Humiliated Delta Flyer Asks 9th Circ. For New Trial

By Dorothy Atkins

A Delta Air Lines passenger who defecated on himself after he was handcuffed and denied the opportunity to use the bathroom urged the Ninth Circuit on Thursday to give him another trial after a judge scrapped his $7.2 million verdict, arguing that the court wrongly tossed the verdict after trial.

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9th Circ. Revives Princess Cruise Guest's Trip-And-Fall Suit

By Gina Kim

The Ninth Circuit revived a Princess Cruise Line guest's negligence suit alleging he injured his neck after falling backward from tripping over an uneven shower ledge in his hotel room bathroom, ruling Thursday there is a genuine factual dispute whether the company knew the bathroom's design was unreasonably dangerous.

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6th Circ. Revives Mich. Debt Collection Suit Against Okla. Firm

By Emily Sawicki

A Detroit federal court holds specific jurisdiction over a fair debt collection complaint that a Michigan autoworker launched after his wages were garnished by an out-of-state law firm, according to a precedential ruling by the Sixth Circuit, which found the state's long-arm statute keeps claims alive.

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NC Judge Denies Class, Collective In Yearslong Wage Dispute

By Benjamin Morse

A North Carolina federal judge refused to certify a new round of collective and class claims against an auto parts manufacturer, finding that workers challenging off-the-clock work failed to show their claims could be efficiently resolved on a group basis after several years of litigation.

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Mercedes Fired New Dad After Bias Complaints, Suit Says

By Kelcey Caulder

Mercedes-Benz ignored a Vietnamese American employee's complaints about a manager's racial bias before ultimately firing him after he took leave for the birth of his child, he told a Georgia federal court.

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Car Parts Co.'s Acquisition Integration Failed, Investors Say

By Sydney Price

Auto parts distributor LKQ Corp. has been hit with a proposed class action in Tennessee federal court accusing it of concealing that a 2023 acquisition harmed LKQ's ability to meet its financial growth goals.

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Brief

Mexican, Vietnamese And Thai Chassis Facing Possible Duties

By Jack McLoone

Imports of chassis from Mexico, Vietnam and Thailand could be hit with duty orders, stretching in some instances up to the triple digits, after the U.S. Department of Commerce on Thursday reached final determinations in associated antidumping and countervailing duty investigations.

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Latest Squires Order Grants 5 IPRs, Denies 4 On The Merits

By Theresa Schliep

U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Director John Squires granted five America Invents Act patent challenges and denied four others in his latest bulk order making institution decisions with little commentary.

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T-Mobile Tie-Up, Boots IPO Among Week's Top Deal Rumors

By Al Barbarino

Deutsche Telekom AG could merge with its American arm T-Mobile to create a global phone giant, digital bank Revolut envisions a $200 billion valuation for its potential initial public offering in 2028, and the owners of U.K. pharmacy chain Boots consider a public offering of their own. 

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7th Circ. Won't Revive Ex-Indiana Worker's Disability Bias Suit

By Patrick Hoff

The Seventh Circuit backed the Indiana Department of Transportation's defeat of a former employee's lawsuit alleging she was fired for needing to work from home because of her kidney transplant, saying she couldn't overcome the agency's explanation that she was insubordinate and performed poorly.

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9th Circ. Revives County's $162M Environmental Coverage Bid

By Abraham Gross

The Ninth Circuit on Thursday revived a California county's suit seeking coverage of up to $162 million for environmental remediation efforts at an airport, reversing a lower court ruling that the policies were capped by an annual limit.

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Transport Co. Says Broker, Insurer Cost It Gov't Contract

By Gianna Ferrarin

An insurance broker submitted forged documents while obtaining an adjustment on a transportation company's insurance policy, causing it to lose coverage it needed to do business with a Washington, D.C., regional transit agency, according to a complaint filed in D.C. federal court.

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Nelson Mullins Adds BakerHostetler Regulatory Pro In Texas

By Lynn LaRowe

Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP has expanded its Houston roster with a former BakerHostetler partner who brings substantial experience advising manufacturers and distributors on regulatory issues.

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GHG Endangerment Finding Repeal Brings New Legal Risks

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's 2009 determination that greenhouse gases endanger public health and welfare anchored a matrix of regulation across multiple sectors — and the recent repeal of that finding has fundamentally destabilized the legal landscape governing industrial emissions, corporate liability and climate-related risk management, says Tanya Nesbitt at Thompson Hine.

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Series

Officiating Football Makes Me A Better Lawyer

Though they may seem to have little in common, officiating football has sharpened many of the same skills that define effective lawyering in management-side labor and employment: preparation, judgment, composure, credibility and ability to make difficult decisions in real time, says Josh Nadreau at Fisher Phillips.

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DLA Piper Clears Vote To End Verein, Unify Leadership

By Tracey Read

DLA Piper announced Friday that firm partners on both sides of the Atlantic have "overwhelmingly approved" a plan to dissolve its Swiss verein structure effective May 1.

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Exclusive

Judge Albright Reflects On 8 Years Shaping Patent Law

By Dani Kass

U.S. District Judge Alan Albright will be walking away from the Western District of Texas at the end of the summer, ready to head back into patent litigation work. He talked with Law360 on Friday about the rockier elements of his judgeship and lessons he'll take into private practice.

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Commerce Department's General Counsel Departs

By Christine DeRosa

The U.S. Department of Commerce's general counsel has left the agency after just over a year, the agency confirmed on Friday.

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GC Cheat Sheet: The Hottest Corporate News Of The Week

By Sue Reisinger

In what may be a first, a federal judge has ordered BJ's Wholesale Club to put an investor's climate-related proxy proposal up for a vote of the shareholders at the company's annual meeting. And a new study shows that more in-house counsel are staying in place despite pay increases slowing amid less competition for talent.

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Law360's Legal Lions Of The Week

By Kevin Penton

Consovoy McCarthy PLLC, Butler Prather LLP, Bowen Painter LLC and Cannella Snyder LLC lead this week's edition of Law360 Legal Lions, after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Fluor Corp. can be held liable for a veteran's state-based injury claims stemming from a 2016 suicide bombing in Afghanistan.

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UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London

By Laura Stewart Liberty

The past week in London has seen a Hong Kong company sue the government and a COVID-19 PPE company linked to Tory peer Michelle Mone, an oligarch bring a fresh claim against a rival in a long-running feud, a rugby league club sue over a canceled mass dance event, and Visa and Mastercard hit with legal action from H&M, Eurostar, and Bang & Olufsen. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.

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Oregon Lawyer Ordered To Pay Attorney Fees For Use Of AI

By Matt Perez

An Oregon attorney was sanctioned by a state appellate court for filing a brief containing a fabricated list of authorities because she used generative artificial intelligence, marking the first case in the jurisdiction to present the option of awarding attorney fees as a sanction as opposed to fines payable to the court.

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Akin Can't 'Recast' Appeal As Good-Faith Effort, 9th Circ. Told

By Lauren Berg

A European winemaker slammed attempts by a U.S. importer and its Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP attorneys to "recast a frivolous appeal as a good-faith effort," saying they should have to pay monetary sanctions for pursuing what the Ninth Circuit called a "self-indulgent" appeal of a valid arbitration award.

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Atty, Brother Say Father's Last Will Altered In Secret

By Emily Sawicki

A Blank Rome LLP attorney and his brother have sued the attorney who executed their father's will in New Jersey federal court, alleging the lawyer preyed on their ailing father toward the end of his life to alter his beneficiaries through undue influence, forgery and fraud.

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In Case You Missed It: Hottest Firms And Stories On Law360

For those who missed out, here's a look back at the law firms, stories and expert analyses that generated the most buzz on Law360 last week.

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