Pa. Court Wipes Out $1B Seat Belt Verdict Against Mitsubishi

By Y. Peter Kang

A Pennsylvania appeals court on Monday vacated a $1 billion judgment against Mitsubishi in a suit accusing the automaker of causing a motorist's paralysis because of a defective seat belt, saying a new trial is warranted because the jury was given erroneous instructions.

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Mercedes Inks $150M Deal In Emissions Cheating Claims

By Brian Steele

Mercedes-Benz USA LLC and Mercedes-Benz Group AG have reached a nearly $150 million national settlement with state attorneys general amid allegations that they sold and leased vehicles equipped with devices capable of defeating emissions tests.

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Ex-Derailment Deal Admin Will Pay $17M To End Contempt Bid

By Matthew Santoni

The ousted administrator of Norfolk Southern's $600 million settlement over the derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, will pay $17.25 million to resolve claims that it mishandled the distribution of payouts, according to deal terms approved Monday. 

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Lima Says Alleged Foley Hoag Conflict Erases $200M Award

By Caroline Simson

The Peruvian city of Lima is defending its bid to vacate a D.C. federal judge's ruling enforcing $200 million in arbitral awards over an alleged conflict involving Foley Hoag LLP, arguing that the firm initially "misled" the city about its connection to contractor and awardee Rutas de Lima SAC.

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First Brands Can Access $60M In 'Trapped' Funds

By Ben Zigterman

A Texas bankruptcy judge said Monday that auto-parts maker First Brands Group can access about $60 million in cash held by customers or stuck in segregated accounts, while setting up a January hearing to handle the debtor's proposed process to reconcile $3 billion in third-party factoring agreements with pending invoices.

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Colo. Atty Sued Again For Multimillion-Dollar Ferrari 'Scam'

By Rachel Konieczny

Two operators of a Wisconsin auto dealership filed a federal lawsuit Friday against a Colorado attorney and his firm, alleging the attorney failed to provide multiple customized Ferrari cars after the pair paid millions under a contract they say the lawyer breached.

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Trump Admin Adds Drones To Nat'l Security Threat List

By Bonnie Eslinger

The Federal Communications Commission on Monday deemed new foreign-made drones an unacceptable risk to the national security and safety of the country.

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Texas Court Clears State Military In Airman Crash Suit

By Mike Curley

A Texas appellate court has thrown out a family's suit against the Texas Military Department over a collision involving a senior airman, finding that the agency has immunity because the airman was on duty and within the scope of his duties at the time.

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Airbus Sued Over Fatal Helicopter Crash In New Jersey

By Matthew Santoni

The families of a pilot and a news photographer killed in a helicopter crash while working for a Philadelphia television station have sued helicopter manufacturer Airbus, along with companies that maintained the helicopter and supplied the hydraulic system parts blamed for causing the crash two years ago in New Jersey.

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6th Circ. Vacates Pharma Salesman's $6.8M Restitution Order

By Gianna Ferrarin

The Sixth Circuit vacated a nearly $7 million restitution order against a pharmaceutical salesman convicted of healthcare fraud, finding an Ohio federal court erred in calculating that amount and apportioning liability.

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BMW's Recall Fix 'Too Late,' Says Widow In SUV Fire Suit

By Jonathan Capriel

A widow claims an engine fire in her BMW spread to her home and caused fatal injuries to her husband, according to a lawsuit filed Friday in Georgia federal court, which points to a defective part at the center of a 721,000-vehicle recall as the primary culprit.

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Rivian Shareholder Sues Top Brass Over Post-IPO Pricing

By Sydney Price

Executives and directors of Rivian Automotive Inc. were hit with an investor's derivative suit accusing them of damaging the company by hiding that its flagship electric vehicles were far more expensive to build than advertised, making price hikes after its initial public offering inevitable.

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7th Circ. Rejects Challenge To Chicago Towing Practices

By Celeste Bott

The Seventh Circuit on Monday affirmed the dismissal of a putative class action challenging the city of Chicago's practice of booting, towing, impounding and ultimately disposing of residents' cars to enforce compliance with its traffic code, saying it doesn't amount to a taking under the Fifth Amendment.

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2nd Circ. Says Arb. Exemption Covers Pacts Between Cos.

By Irene Spezzamonte

The contracts used by two food distributors who created their own entities to work for a food service business fall under the Federal Arbitration Act carveout, the Second Circuit ruled Monday, nixing a Connecticut federal court's decision that sent their misclassification case to arbitration.

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The Major Securities Litigation Rulings And Trends Of 2025

The past 12 months saw increased regulator focus on disclosures concerning artificial intelligence, signs of growing judicial scrutiny at the class certification stage, and shifting regulatory priorities at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission — all major developments that may significantly affect securities litigation strategy in 2026 and beyond, say attorneys at Debevoise.

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Bonus Spotlight

Haynes Boone, Seward & Kissel Announce Year-End Bonuses

By Aebra Coe

Haynes Boone is handing its associates year-end and special bonuses in line with those offered by a significant portion of BigLaw this year, largely adhering to a bonus scale first put forward by Cravath Swaine & Moore LLP in November, a firm spokesperson confirmed Monday.

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Analysis

4 Legal Ethics Matters That Rocked 2025

By Emily Sawicki

This year, judges across the country grappled with attorneys' use and misuse of generative artificial intelligence, and prominent federal prosecutor battles dominated headlines in some of the top legal ethics matters of 2025.

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DOJ Challenges ABA's Standing In Law Firm Intimidation Suit

By Ryan Boysen

The Trump administration is not waging an intimidation campaign against U.S. law firms, the government said Friday, calling an American Bar Association lawsuit challenging its alleged "law firm intimidation policy" as total speculation that must be dismissed due to lack of standing.

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JPMorgan Rips Javice Attys' 'Absurd' Bills For Candy, Booze

By Dorothy Atkins

JPMorgan has unveiled new details in its ongoing legal fee fight with Charlie Javice, accusing the convicted financial aid startup founder's Quinn Emanuel defense counsel and other firms of billing for "absurd" and "outrageous" expenses, including specialty cocktails, cellulite butter, a Cookie Monster toy and $530 on gummy bears.

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Ex-CIA Director's Lawyers Accuse DOJ Of Judge Shopping

By Carolina Bolado

Former CIA Director John Brennan's attorneys asked the chief judge for the Southern District of Florida on Monday to block prosecutors from trying to steer any potential charges against him for investigating Russia's 2016 election interference to U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon's courtroom.

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Analysis

2025 Was A Policy Year Like No Other For Immigration Attys

By Britain Eakin

This year brought nonstop immigration policy whiplash as the Trump administration ramped up enforcement, triggering panic among employers about I-9 compliance in a landscape of constantly shifting adjudication and work authorization policies. Here, Law360 looks at how policy shifted attorney practice in 2025.

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Calif. Atty Slams 'Protectionist' ABS Fee-Sharing Ban

By Emily Sawicki

A California attorney has pushed back on opposition from California's attorney general and the state's bar association amid his efforts to block enforcement of a ban on fee sharing with out-of-state law firms owned by nonattorneys, arguing the new state law is a "protectionist act, in defiance of the constitution."

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LawFirms.com Beats LegalForce's TM Suit After Bench Trial

By Ivan Moreno

A California judge has concluded that a company that operates LawFirms.com did not infringe a law firm's trademarks for LegalForce, saying that during a four-day bench trial in October the court found "no one was actually confused or misled."

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Schumer Pushes Senate To Sue Over Epstein File Release

By Courtney Bublé

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., introduced a resolution on Monday that would direct the Senate to take legal action to force the Trump administration to fully comply with the law to release the files of the late financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

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Analysis

As US Executions Decline, Florida Surges

By Brandon Lowrey

During Florida's 1994 gubernatorial race, Republican candidate Jeb Bush accused Democratic incumbent Lawton Chiles of being too soft on crime; Chiles' immediate predecessor, Bush pointed out, had signed almost 10 times as many death warrants as Chiles had.

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Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court

By Jeff Montgomery

Delaware's justices threw the Court of Chancery in reverse big time last week, rescinding a decision by the state's chancellor that last year effectively canceled tech tycoon Elon Musk's multi-year, then-$56 billion stock-based compensation package. It was a decision that lit up the court's relatively low-key, pre-holiday wind-up. It also highlighted the endless, 3D tug of war over Delaware-chartered companies and the interests of boards, officers, controllers, stockholders and the corporate bar.

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