DiDi Investors Get Final OK For $740M Deal, Atty Fees

By Sydney Price

A $740 million deal between Chinese ride-hailing app DiDi and its investors has received final approval from a New York federal judge, settling claims the company hid enterprise-threatening regulatory risks during its 2021 initial public offering.

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GM, Drivers Spar Over Trimmed Transmission Defect Class

By Linda Chiem

General Motors LLC has asked a Michigan federal judge to shut down a lawsuit alleging it sold vehicles with defective eight-speed automatic transmissions that caused "hard shifts" or made vehicles shake or shudder on the road, while the plaintiffs moved to certify four state-based classes of drivers.

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Fiat Chrysler Can't Ditch Infotainment Defect Class Action

By Susan Smiley

A Michigan federal judge has denied Fiat Chrysler's motion to dismiss a proposed class action from drivers claiming that nine models of the automaker's vehicles manufactured between 2021 and 2024 have defective infotainment systems.

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Aetna Can't Bring Its Own Claims In $20M Air Ambulance Fight

By Brian Steele

A Connecticut federal judge has agreed to throw out three Aetna entities' allegations that air ambulance operators misrepresented their services throughout an Independent Dispute Resolution award process, finding that the federal No Surprises Act bars the insurer's counterclaims.

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Fla. Panel Backs Prison Time For Luxury Car Theft Kid

By Elizabeth Daley

A man found guilty of stealing luxury cars worth millions as a juvenile cannot have his 15-year prison sentence revoked, a Florida appeals court said Wednesday, finding that his youthful offender community control status was correctly rescinded after he failed to complete boot camp and committed a new crime.

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Goodyear Seeks FCC Waiver For Tire Safety System

By Aneeta Mathur-Ashton

The Federal Communications Commission is asking for public input on Goodyear's request to use its tire-mounted sensor system on unlicensed telecommunications devices so it can collect critical tire safety data more quickly.

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Colo. AG Seeks Order To Force Auto Warranty Co. Probe

By MJ Koo

The Colorado attorney general asked a state court to compel an extended auto warranty company to comply with an investigative subpoena issued more than a year ago, alleging the company failed to honor consumers' data privacy rights and has repeatedly stonewalled the state's investigation.

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DoorDash Sued For Kicking Off Seattle Drivers Without Notice

By Ben Adlin

A former DoorDash driver is accusing the delivery platform of violating a Seattle ordinance by "deactivating" driver accounts without providing proper notice or justification, claiming in a proposed class action that the company abruptly cut off his access to delivery offers despite a sterling service record.

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UPS Drivers Seek Class Cert. In Colo. Sick Leave Suit

By MJ Koo

A UPS package driver asked a Colorado federal court to certify a class of over 12,000 union workers who allege the delivery giant failed to provide paid sick leave as required under state law, arguing the company's uniform statewide policies make the case well suited for class treatment.

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Citigroup Says Foreign Bondholders Can't Bring RICO Suit

By Carolina Bolado

Citigroup urged a Florida federal magistrate judge Wednesday to dismiss racketeering claims in a suit accusing the bank of running a massive cash advance fraud scheme, arguing the bondholder plaintiffs suffered no domestic injury that would allow them to sue under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations statute.

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Aequum To Escrow Inventory Sale Funds In First Brands Row

By Vince Sullivan

A Texas bankruptcy judge granted a preliminary injunction on Wednesday that will require the escrow of $18 million in inventory sale proceeds in a lien superiority dispute among lenders in the First Brands Chapter 11 case.

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Brief

Commerce Hits Chassis From 3 Countries With Duties

By Jack McLoone

The U.S. Department of Commerce on Wednesday ordered duties on imported chassis and subassemblies from Mexico, Thailand and Vietnam. 

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NY Judge Rejects Permanent Ban In Eletson Award Feud

By Elaine Briseño

A New York judge Wednesday declined to permanently bar former majority owners of Eletson Gas from attempting to exercise control over the company or interfering with new leadership, finding the request goes beyond the initial relief sought.

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Niger Says Town House Off Limits In $7.6M Award Feud

By Joyce Hanson

The Republic of Niger told a New York federal judge on Wednesday that its $35 million town house on Manhattan's Upper East Side can't be seized by a United Kingdom aviation services company looking to enforce a $7.6 million arbitral award because the property is used for sovereign purposes.

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Wash. Panel Says UIM Payment Doesn't Block IFCA Claim

By Danielle Ferguson

Washington state appeals court on Tuesday said an insurer cannot shake allegations that it unreasonably initially denied an injured driver's underinsured-motorist claims despite later paying the benefits, with the court noting a lack of instructive case law under the state's Insurance Fair Conduct Act.

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Brief

$8.8M Deal In State Farm 'Diminished Value' Suit Gets 1st OK

By Hope Patti

A Washington federal court granted preliminary approval of an $8.8 million settlement to resolve a class action claiming that State Farm failed to adequately pay for the diminished value of vehicles under its underinsured motorist coverage.

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The Banking Issue Hiding In Justices' Freight Broker Ruling

While the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent liability preemption ruling in Montgomery v. Caribe Transport was front-page news for the transportation industry, the banking industry seems to have missed that the decision exposes freight broker lenders to credit, documentation and litigation issues, say attorneys at Barack Ferrazzano.

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Using NY Lawsuit Loan Law, Ruling Against Shady Injury Suits

The combination of a New York state appellate ruling that exposes litigation lenders in potentially fraudulent personal injury cases to discovery and a new law limiting predatory loans to plaintiffs provides defense counsel a powerful new toolkit for confronting suspicious claims, say attorneys at Stradley Ronon.

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Opinion

Rule Of Law Requires Gov't Engagement With Bar, Not Retreat

A federal agency's absence from national and local bar conferences, most recently illustrated by the U.S. Department of Justice's withdrawal from a New York City Bar Association white collar conference, disserves the bar, the government lawyers themselves and, ultimately, the administration of justice, says Muhammad Faridi at Linklaters.

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Full Fed. Circ. To Hear Immigration Judges' Firing Challenge

By Ganesh Setty

The Federal Circuit on Wednesday agreed to conduct en banc review over the firing of two immigration judges, after the Merit Systems Protection Board ruled that they constituted inferior officers who are subject to at-will removal by the president.

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No Discipline For DOJ Atty's 'Lapse Of Judgment' In ICE Case

By Emily Sawicki

A Rhode Island federal prosecutor who knowingly withheld information about a detainee's criminal history at the behest of immigration enforcement, leading to an "unfounded attack" against a federal judge by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement following the detainee's release, violated his duty of candor but will not face discipline, the district's chief judge determined.

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Trump Halts Clayton Director Hearing Over Blue-Slip Dispute

By Courtney Bublé

President Donald Trump directed Jay Clayton, U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, not to appear for his confirmation hearing Wednesday on his nomination to be director of national intelligence, in part over a blue-slip issue.

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Maya Kowalski Sues Ex-Atty Over Fees, Funding Loan

By Carolina Bolado

Maya Kowalski, the subject of the Netflix documentary "Take Care of Maya," filed a malpractice suit against her former attorney on Wednesday, accusing him of charging excessive fees and improperly orchestrating an advance funding loan after winning a $213 million judgment.

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Sanctioned IP Atty Tells Fed. Circ. 'Integrity' On The Line

By Elliot Weld

An attorney who was sanctioned in a trade dress infringement case due to what a judge said were his repeated misrepresentations has asked the Federal Circuit to lift the penalties against him and his client, saying his "professional and personal integrity, and my family, depends on it."

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Bosch Receives First DOJ Declination Under New Policy

By Sarah Jarvis

German technology company Bosch on Wednesday became the first company to avoid criminal prosecution under a new U.S. Department of Justice enforcement policy after it cooperated with the federal government and agreed to pay $36 million to settle allegations it improperly exported technology products to sanctioned Chinese company Huawei.

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DOJ's Pot Shift Leaves Key Questions For Cannabis Industry

By Sam Reisman

The Trump administration's recent moves to relax federal restrictions on marijuana through the administrative process will have unclear ramifications for all industry players unless Congress steps in to rewrite cannabis law, attorneys heard Wednesday.

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