Tesla Wins New Trial Bid After $42.5M Crash Verdict

By Y. Peter Kang

The Indiana Supreme Court has ordered a new trial on whether Tesla can be held vicariously liable for a motorcycle crash caused by an employee driving a company truck, finding a jury should determine whether the worker was acting in the scope of his employment when he struck the motorcyclist.

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Uber Can't Arbitrate Deceptive Pricing Suit, Calif. Panel Says

By Craig Clough

A California appellate panel on Wednesday affirmed a trial court's refusal to send a proposed class action accusing Uber of misleading riders about upfront fares to arbitration, holding that the suit seeks public injunctive relief and therefore falls outside the reach of the company's agreement.

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Taser Maker Hit With Class Action Over License Plate Tracking

By Dorothy Atkins

Two California consumers have hit Axon Enterprise Inc. with a proposed class action in California federal court, alleging the maker of Tasers and body cameras violates privacy statutes by collecting and storing information about millions of Golden State drivers through its "sprawling fleet" of cameras and automated license-plate readers.

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Airlines Hit With Broad Antitrust Suit Over Price Info Exchange

By Rachel Riley

Major airlines including Delta, United, American, Alaska, JetBlue and Southwest have kept airfares high by sharing proprietary dynamic pricing information through a revamped data hub operated by Airline Tariff Publishing Co., two ticket buyers claim in a proposed class action filed in Washington federal court Wednesday.

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Analysis

Blue Wave May Usher In New Era Of State Climate Action

By Gautama Mehta

After the midterm blue wave, environmental advocates are looking to newly flipped statehouses to pass strong climate laws in the face of the federal government's retreat from greenhouse gas regulation.

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Garmin Wants Out Of Lawsuit Over Wash. Plane Crash Deaths

By Rachel Riley

Garmin is seeking to exit a lawsuit blaming faulty aircraft systems for a deadly 2022 Cessna test flight, telling a Washington state judge Wednesday that the victims' families have not shown the court has jurisdiction over their claims against the Kansas-based GPS giant.

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State Farm Gets Vehicle Valuation Dispute Trimmed

By Hope Patti

A North Carolina federal court trimmed a proposed class action accusing State Farm of systematically undervaluing drivers' claims for totaled vehicles, saying the suit plausibly alleged unfair and deceptive trade practices, but not real and imminent future harm to maintain a claim for prospective declaratory relief.

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Toyota Hit With Class Action Over Hybrid Inverter Recall

By Jonathan Capriel

Toyota knowingly sold newer-model Camry and Corolla Cross Hybrids with a defective inverter bolt, causing loss of power or fire, according to a proposed class action that accused the automaker of teetering when it came to a recall.

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Mich. Inmate's Crash Suit Against Prison Officer Can Proceed

By Melanie Dorsey

A prison inmate's negligence lawsuit against a Michigan corrections officer who allegedly drove through a yellow traffic light while distracted by her cellphone can proceed, a Michigan Court of Claims judge ruled, finding that factual disputes remain over whether the officer's conduct caused the crash that injured the handcuffed prisoner.

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Safety Risk Justified Officer's Gun Pat-Down, Fla. Panel Says

By Parker Quinlan

A split Florida appeals court has found that police were justified in patting down a bicyclist they had stopped for not having a light on because they noticed a "bulge" under his shirt, affirming the man's conviction for unlawful possession of a firearm. 

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Chancery Won't Allow Redo Of Fight Over Fund's $9M In Cash

By Jarek Rutz

The Delaware Chancery Court on Thursday declined to revise rulings in a yearslong dispute over a distressed credit fund's records and more than $9 million of withheld cash, disagreeing with arguments that the fund's former managers and controllers had been improperly swept into the orders.

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Brief

Chinese Rubber Chemical Facing 285% US Antidumping Duty

By Jack McLoone

Imports of a chemical from China primarily used in rubber production are facing a possible major antidumping duty after the U.S. Department of Commerce on Thursday preliminarily found the chemical is being sold at less than fair value.

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Canada, China OK 2-Year Preferential Trade Extension

By Dylan Moroses

Canadian exports of peas, canola, lobsters and crabs will continue to benefit from an extended preferential market access deal with China, Canada's international trade minister has announced.

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Port Workers Urge Court to Keep Union Nepotism Claims Alive

By Katherine Smith

Port of Savannah workers have asked a Georgia federal court to reject an International Longshoremen's Association local's bid for an early win in their class action alleging it divided a hiring list and funneled jobs to union leaders' family and friends, claiming officials lied about the reasons driving the split.

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23 States Look To Defend Pipeline From Tribe's Shutdown Bid

By Taylor Bowie

Attorneys general for 23 states are telling a D.C. federal judge that federal agencies won't adequately represent their economic interests in the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe's suit seeking to shut down the Dakota Access Pipeline.

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Alaska Judge Faults Corps' Reversal On Gold Mine Permit

By Corey Rothauser

An Alaska federal judge has found that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers unlawfully approved a permit for a gold mining project near Nome without explaining why it rejected its own district office's findings about potential harm to an estuary used by Indigenous communities.

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Liberty Seeks To Dismantle Rental Car Coverage Class

By Carolyn Muyskens

Liberty Mutual urged a Massachusetts federal judge Thursday to decertify a nationwide class of policyholders claiming it arbitrarily limited a rental vehicle benefit, saying the class has no path forward after its damages theory was rejected.

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Enviro Marketing Lessons From NY Greenwashing Ruling

A New York state appeals court recently affirmed the dismissal of a New York City suit accusing BP, Exxon and Shell of corporate and product greenwashing, providing practical lessons for framing comparative environmental claims carefully by ensuring that environmental claims are accurate, properly qualified and presented in context, say attorneys at V&E.

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Series

Open-Water Swimming Makes Me A Better Lawyer

Swimming long distances in open waters is not necessarily an escape from my intellectual property practice, but a complementary discipline that similarly rewards sustained attention, intellectual curiosity, resilience and the ability to pursue a distant objective without losing command of the immediate task, says Christina MacDougall at Morgan Lewis.

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Are You Happy With Your In-House Role? Take Our Survey

Is your company giving you everything you need to succeed? What are some misconceptions about working in-house? Help Law360 Pulse answer these questions and more in this year's In-House Satisfaction Survey.

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Alston & Bird Hires 2 Ex-Goodwin Procter Real Estate Pros

By Kevin Penton

Alston & Bird LLP has added two real estate attorneys previously with Goodwin Procter LLP as partners in Los Angeles, the firm announced Friday.

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US Charges 3 Over $129M AI Scam Using Fake UK Lawyers

By Laura Stewart Liberty

U.S. prosecutors said Thursday they have charged three men, including one facing extradition from London, for allegedly defrauding companies of $129 million through a scheme that used AI to impersonate executives and U.K. lawyers.

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Defeated Texas Justice Being Considered For Federal Bench

By Courtney Bublé

With the clock ticking on Republicans' control of the Senate, President Donald Trump is considering putting a Texas Supreme Court justice who just lost reelection on the federal bench.

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Ice Miller Sued Over $729K Award After Losing Federal Forum

By Andrea Keckley

A couple who hired Ice Miller LLP to defend their organization against a breach of contract suit have accused the firm in Indiana federal court of exposing them to additional litigation with a settlement that failed to preserve federal jurisdiction over future disputes.

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Japan's Anderson Mori Plans 2-Office Spring Launch In Texas

By Lynn LaRowe

Japan's Anderson Mori & Tomotsune is planning to enter the U.S. market next year with offices in Dallas and Houston, citing the Lone Star State's status as a business hub and client demand from global and Japanese businesses as factors driving the expansion.

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WilmerHale Rehires Treasury Official, Former Counsel In DC

By Jack Rodgers

A former Treasury Department official who worked as the agency's undersecretary for domestic finance has rejoined WilmerHale's financial institutions group as a partner, the firm announced Friday.

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Brief

Goldberg Segalla Adds Retail And Hospitality Partner In NJ

By Matt Perez

Goldberg Segalla LLP announced it has hired a former Reilly McDevitt & Henrich PC attorney to be a partner in its retail and hospitality practice group.

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Law360's Legal Lions Of The Week

By Kevin Penton

Susman Godfrey LLP, Langer Grogan & Diver PC, Hausfeld LLP and MoloLamken LLP lead this week's edition of Law360 Legal Lions, after the Ninth Circuit ruled that a former federal judge erred by scrapping a $4.7 billion jury verdict against the National Football League in a class action over the price of its Sunday Ticket broadcast package.

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Law Firm Sues Sierra Leone Over $361K Legal Bill

By Jared Foretek

Law firm Cohen Seglias Pallas Greenhall & Furman PC claims in a complaint filed in D.C. federal court that Sierra Leone's government stiffed it on more than $300,000 in legal fees and costs after the firm defended it against earlier claims of unpaid fees by Jenner & Block.

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Roundup

GC Cheat Sheet: The Hottest Corporate News Of The Week

By Michele Gorman

The U.S. Department of Justice's new cash rewards program for tips on criminal fraud could backfire in some cases, experts say. Elsewhere, attorneys are weighing new strategies in the wake of Texas' historic blue shift during the midterm elections. These are some of the stories in corporate legal news you may have missed in the past week.

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Brief

US Legal Sector Jobs Reached Record High In October

By Tracey Read

The legal industry's hot streak continued last month, adding 2,400 more jobs in October to reach a record high, according to seasonally adjusted data released Friday by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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Mich. Supreme Court Chief Next To Lead Chief Justice Group

By Melanie Dorsey

The Michigan Supreme Court's chief justice has been named president-elect of the Conference of Chief Justices, a national organization representing the highest-ranking state judicial officers, and she plans to focus on expanding access to legal services, reforming attorney licensing and strengthening courthouse security.

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3rd Circ. Preview: UPenn Staff Rifts, FTC $3M Fee Fight

By George Woolston

The Third Circuit began its November session by examining Tree of Life synagogue shooter Robert Bowers' appeal of his death sentence and is set to hear a number of other matters ranging from a state's bid to restore millions of dollars in food aid, to the federal government fighting a $3 million counsel fee award, to reviewing the third-party harassment test.

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Blank Rome Partner, Hotel Founder Disputes $15.6M Tax Bill

By Zak Kostro

A Blank Rome LLP partner who founded a luxury boutique hotel in Italy told the U.S. Tax Court the IRS improperly determined he owes roughly $15.6 million in taxes and penalties, disputing the agency's assertion that his hotel operations didn't qualify as a business for purposes of claiming expenses.

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Squire Patton, Baker McKenzie Hit With Data Breach Suits

By Rae Ann Varona

Squire Patton Boggs LLP and Baker McKenzie failed to protect private personal information stored in the law firms' systems from separate cyberattacks and delayed notifying affected individuals for roughly two months, two proposed class actions filed in Ohio and Illinois federal courts have alleged.

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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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Judge Kewalramani Warns Against Taking Sanctions Lightly

By Dani Kass

Retired U.S. Magistrate Judge Shashi Kewalramani on Friday cautioned patent attorneys to be extremely discerning when filing sanctions motions, comparing it to crying "fire" in a crowded room.

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