'Known Dangers' Of Driving Don't Merit $76M, Texas Court Says

By Spencer Brewer

A split Texas appellate court did away with a $76 million judgment against a company whose driver rear-ended the vehicle of a woman who later died, saying the woman's estate failed to show the company's negligence caused the wreck.

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NASCAR Owes Teams $364M For Monopoly Harm, Jury Told

By Hayley Fowler

Two NASCAR teams — including one owned by Michael Jordan — are seeking more than $364 million in damages from the private stock car racing organization in their lawsuit claiming the league made it impossible for a rival series to form, the teams' expert testified Monday.

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Fed. Circ. Backs Erasure Of $64M IP Verdict Against Goodyear

By Ivan Moreno

The Federal Circuit on Monday affirmed an Ohio federal judge's decision to erase a $64 million jury verdict against Goodyear, agreeing that a Czech self-inflating tire company's suit had alleged misappropriation of trade secrets that were insufficiently defined, not secret or not used by Goodyear.

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Trump Admin Backs Exxon In Cuba Property Seizure Case

By Caroline Simson

The Trump administration is pressing the U.S. Supreme Court to rule in favor of Exxon Mobil Corp. and find that a federal law allowing U.S. victims of property seizures by the Cuban government to seek damages from entities that subsequently used the property abrogates the sovereign immunity of Cuban agencies and instrumentalities.

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Liberty Seeks Excess Insurer Repayment For $21.3M Verdict

By Gianna Ferrarin

A Berkshire Hathaway unit must cover Liberty Insurance Underwriters Inc.'s portion of a $21.3 million jury award in a personal injury case, Liberty said in a new federal complaint, arguing the unit unreasonably failed to resolve the case before trial despite multiple settlement offers.

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Delta Fights To Keep Pay Range Suit In Federal Court

By Irene Spezzamonte

A suit accusing Delta Air Lines of failing to include a compensation range in job postings should remain in federal court because the job applicant who sued established an injury, the airline told a Washington federal court.

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Brief

Spirit Airlines Can Transfer 2 Chicago Gates For $30M

By Hilary Russ

A New York bankruptcy judge on Monday said he will approve a move by Spirit Airlines to transfer two of its four preferential gate assignments at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport to American Airlines for $30 million.

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Volkswagen Defect Class Gets Final OK For $1.95M Fee Award

By Carla Baranauckas

A New Jersey federal judge has granted final approval to a class action settlement for 3.9 million Volkswagen and Audi owners, resolving claims over alleged turbocharger defects and awarding $1.95 million in fees and expenses to the plaintiffs' attorneys.

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Ford Urges 9th Circ. To Decertify 'Death Wobble' Classes

By Craig Clough

An attorney told a Ninth Circuit panel Monday it should decertify all the subclasses of buyers alleging some of Ford's pickup trucks suffered a steering defect known as the "death wobble," saying the district court didn't properly consider whether the models in question are largely used for business purposes.

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Hyundai Unit Seeks Exit From Cannabis Patient Case

By Jonathan Capriel

A subsidiary of Hyundai wants to end a would-be employee's discrimination lawsuit that accuses the company of pulling back a job offer after learning she used marijuana to manage PTSD, telling a federal court that she lied about having a medical cannabis card to treat the condition and about her education.

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Cuts To Colo. Disability Transit Service Unlawful, Suit Says

By Benjamin Morse

A Colorado public transit agency's cuts to a program that provides disabled individuals with free fares and subsidized ride-share services runs afoul of state and federal discrimination law, a disability-rights organization and two disabled riders alleged in a lawsuit filed in federal court.

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7-Eleven To Pay $4.5M Penalty Over Fla. Gas Station Buy

By Rae Ann Varona

7-Eleven Inc. and its Japanese parent company will pay a historic $4.5 million penalty to settle the Federal Trade Commission's allegations that the convenience store giant bought a Florida gas station without first informing the FTC, in violation of a 2018 agreement, the agency announced Monday.

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Royal Caribbean Negligent In Passenger Death, Family Says

By Carolina Bolado

Royal Caribbean crewmembers negligently overserved a man alcohol and later used excessive force to restrain him, the family of the man who died on board one of the company's cruise ships told a Florida federal court.

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Mosaic Says 'Radioactive' Road Done, Legal Challenge Moot

By Elaine Briseño

A Florida fertilizer producer asked the Eleventh Circuit to toss a lawsuit challenging a new roadway on its property using radioactive materials, arguing the court cannot provide any remediation or relief for a road it already constructed.

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Feds Ordered To Start Turning Over Climate Panel Documents

By Julie Manganis

A Massachusetts federal judge on Monday ordered the Trump administration to begin complying with a request by two environmental advocacy groups for records of an ad hoc panel convened by the U.S. Department of Energy, ahead of an anticipated decision to vacate a 2009 finding that greenhouse gases are endangering human health.

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EPA Wants Suit Over Refiners' Hydrogen Fluoride Use Tossed

By Tom Lotshaw

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency asked a California federal judge to throw out a suit aiming to force it to stop oil refineries from using hydrogen fluoride, saying the groups behind it rely on speculative hypotheticals to allege harm.

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Previewing Justices' Driver Arbitration Exemption Review

The U.S. Supreme Court's forthcoming decision in Flowers Foods v. Brock, addressing whether last-mile delivery drivers are covered by the Federal Arbitration Act's exemption for transportation workers, may require employers to reevaluate the enforceability of arbitration agreements for affected employees, say attorneys at Sullivan & Cromwell.

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New 'Waters' Definition Could Bring Clarity — And Confusion

Federal agencies have proposed a new regulatory definition of "waters of the United States," a key phrase in the Clean Water Act — but while the change is meant to provide clarity, it could spark new questions of interpretation, and create geographic differences in how the statute is applied, say attorneys at Bracewell.

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Opinion

Horizontal Stare Decisis Should Not Be Casually Discarded

Eliminating the so-called law of the circuit doctrine — as recently proposed by a Fifth Circuit judge, echoing Justice Neil Gorsuch’s concurrence in Loper Bright — would undermine public confidence in the judiciary’s independence and create costly uncertainty for litigants, says Lawrence Bluestone at Genova Burns.

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Series

The Law Firm Merger Diaries: Getting The Message Across

Communications and brand strategy during a law firm merger represent a crucial thread that runs through every stage of a combination and should include clear messaging, leverage modern marketing tools and embrace the chance to evolve, says Ashley Horne at Womble Bond.

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US Lawyer Numbers Surge With Hefty 2024 Graduating Class

By Tracey Read

The number of U.S. lawyers showed marked growth for the first time since 2020, due to a 2024 graduating class that was nearly 12% larger than any other class since 2012, a study from the American Bar Association released Monday showed.

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Habba Resigns As Acting US Atty After DQ Ruling At 3rd Circ.

By Jake Maher

Alina Habba stepped down Monday as acting U.S. attorney for New Jersey following a Third Circuit ruling that she was unlawfully appointed to the position, with the U.S. Department of Justice unveiling that a trio of officials will take on her responsibilities.

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Conservative Justices Probe 'Husk' Of FTC Firing Protections

By Bryan Koenig

The U.S. Supreme Court's conservative majority pushed back Monday against the 90-year-old precedent permitting the removal only for cause of Federal Trade Commission members, and perhaps those serving other independent agencies, calling those safeguards a "dried husk" and wondering where to draw the line for protected agencies.

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Ex-Josh Cellars President Fights Gibson Dunn Withdrawal Bid

By Elliot Weld

The former president of the company behind the Josh Cellars wine brand disputed Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP's version of events around his allegedly unpaid legal bills, saying he has questions about the reasonableness of the firm's charges, which must be arbitrated per his contract with the firm.

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Carlton Fields Steps Aside In 'Irreconcilable' Miss America Case

By Emily Johnson

A Florida federal judge allowed Carlton Fields and its attorneys on Monday to withdraw from representing the plaintiffs in a dispute over the ownership of the Miss America pageant, after the firm said "irreconcilable differences" drew it to ask to step down.

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Jury Expert Sues Atty For 'Pirating' Her Jan. 6 Venue Report

By Matt Perez

A New Hampshire defense attorney representing a defendant charged for crimes related to the storming of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, has been sued in D.C. federal court for allegedly stealing a copyrighted study analyzing attitudes in the jury pool of the District of Columbia.

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Litigation Funder Says Attys Hid Deal To Evade $1.5M Payout

By Christine DeRosa

A Florida-based litigation funder has sued two California attorneys and a law firm, alleging they secretly settled a client's civil dispute and steered the money so they wouldn't have to repay over $1.5 million.

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Analysis

What To Do When Jurors Don't 'Trust The Science'

By Chris Villani

The pandemic and initiatives from the second administration of President Donald Trump challenging decades of established scientific norms have made science more politicized, and attorneys say picking a jury and presenting scientific evidence is increasingly challenging.

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Brief

Senators Kelly, Slotkin Set Up Legal Defense Funds

By Courtney Bublé

After appearing in a video encouraging members of the military and intelligence community to not follow illegal orders, Sens. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., and Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., have established legal defense funds.

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Defense Bill Includes Protections For Retired Justices

By Courtney Bublé

The National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal 2026 released Sunday night extends U.S. Supreme Court police protection for retired and former justices and their immediate family members.

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Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court

By Jarek Rutz

The Delaware Chancery Court delivered a busy first week of December, featuring commercial disputes, post-closing merger and acquisition battles and renewed scrutiny of fiduciary conduct ranging from oil and gas investments to healthcare acquisitions. 

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