GM Must Face MDL Wiretap Claims Over OnStar Devices

By Chart Riggall

A Georgia federal judge Wednesday narrowed the scope of claims filed on behalf of a proposed nationwide class of 16 million drivers whose OnStar driving data was allegedly used to spy on them, while largely preserving the wiretapping allegations at the heart of the suit.

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Jury Awards $18.4M For Jeep Rollaway Accident Amputation

By Mike Curley

A Minnesota state jury has awarded an $18.4 million verdict to a man who lost his left leg after his 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee backed over him, while declining to award punitive damages against FCA US LLC.

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Family Files Negligence Suit Over NY Helicopter Crash

By Linda Chiem

The estates of the Barcelona family who died in a helicopter crash over the Hudson River last year have accused the New York tour charter company and its owner of negligently maintaining the helicopter, which broke apart midair, according to a new Manhattan state court complaint.

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Delta Pilots Fail To Get Military Bias Suit Off The Ground

By Hailey Konnath

The Eleventh Circuit on Wednesday affirmed a lower court's decision tossing former Delta Air Lines Inc. pilots' claims that they were forced out of their jobs for taking military leave, ruling the pilots would have been forced out anyway for abusing their sick leave.

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Uber, DoorDash Can't Pause NYC Tip Prompt Laws On Appeal

By Benjamin Morse

Uber and DoorDash cannot temporarily block New York City laws regulating how they display gratuity options as an appeal moves forward, the Second Circuit ruled, finding the companies failed to show that an injunction is warranted.

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Justices Won't Move Mich. Pipeline Suit To Federal Court

By Keith Goldberg

The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to overturn a Sixth Circuit decision that rebuffed Enbridge's efforts to transfer from state court to federal court a lawsuit from Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel seeking to shut down a pipeline between the U.S. and Canada.

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Regional Airline Settles Ex-Pilot's Disability Bias Suit

By Patrick Hoff

A regional American Airlines subsidiary has resolved a former pilot's lawsuit claiming she was forced to resign because the company denied requests for time off to deal with depression and anxiety exacerbated by intense training exercises, according to Colorado federal court filings.

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Frontier Pays Flight Attendants Only While In Air, Suit Says

By MJ Koo

Frontier Airlines underpaid flight attendants by compensating them only for time spent in the air while requiring hours of unpaid work before and after each flight, according to a proposed class action filed in New Jersey federal court.

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TD Bank, Airline Data Co. Accused Of Sharing Info With Govt.

By Sydney Price

TD Bank NA and airline-owned financial technology company Airlines Reporting Corp. are facing a proposed class action in Delaware federal court accusing them of funneling airfare transaction data to the government through a "secret pipeline," in violation of consumers' financial privacy rights.

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Antitrust Panel Chief Raises Concerns On RV Part Cos. Merger

By Nadia Dreid

Two of the nation's biggest RV part suppliers are talking about merging, and it's got the head of the Senate's subcommittee on antitrust issues concerned — he's written to the companies to tell them that their union would warrant "close scrutiny."

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Tesla Wants Out Of Investor Suit Over Its Self-Driving Goals

By Emilie Ruscoe

Automaker Tesla Inc. seeks to shed a proposed investor class action alleging the company overstated its success developing autonomous driving technology, arguing that it had already defeated "nearly identical allegations" in a California federal court and before the Ninth Circuit.

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Hyundai, Kia Face Claims Over Defective Charging System

By Aneeta Mathur-Ashton

A subsidiary of Hyundai Motor Group is facing a proposed class action in New Jersey federal court alleging it sold defective charging units and benefited financially from covering up the problems.

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NJ Co. Presses 3rd Circ. To Nix Hudson Tunnel Project PLA

By Tom Lotshaw

A New Jersey company has urged the Third Circuit to scrap a project labor agreement the Gateway Development Commission entered for the Hudson Tunnel Project, claiming the agreement unlawfully blocked it and its United Steelworkers employees from vying for a major segment of the project.

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Okla. Defines Entities Eligible For Development Tax Credits

By Zak Kostro

Oklahoma defined entities that are eligible to receive income tax credits for capital contributions to qualified economic development and infrastructure projects under a bill signed by the governor.

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Brief

Logistics Co. Strikes Deal To End Ex-Worker's Age Bias Suit

By Grace Elletson

A logistics company wrapped up a suit Wednesday from a worker who said he was forced to retire in his 70s after his managers refused to train him in a new computer system and ignored his medical accommodation requests, according to a filing in North Carolina federal court.

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Commerce Opens Path For Canadian, Mexican Metal Tariff Cut

By Jack McLoone

Canadian and Mexican steel and aluminum producers that commit to expanding their U.S. domestic production capacity and provide the goods to U.S. automotive manufacturers can apply to have the 50% tariff rate on the metals halved, the U.S. Department of Commerce said Wednesday.

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Series

Law School's Missed Lessons: How To Draft Pleadings

Most law school graduates step into their first jobs without ever having drafted a complaint, answer, motion or other type of pleading, but that gap can be closed by understanding the strategy embedded in every filing, writing with clarity and purpose, and seeking feedback at every step, says Eric Yakaitis at Haug Barron.

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Norton Rose Faces $100M Suit Over Withdrawn Patent App

By Celeste Bott

Norton Rose Fulbright was sued in Illinois state court Tuesday by an advertising tech company claiming that the law firm mishandled a patent application and caused it to be deemed withdrawn, but kept the company in the dark about the loss of its valuable patent rights for over a year.

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Lockheed Birth Defect Trial Judge 'Disappointed' By Attys

By Cara Salvatore

A Florida federal judge said Tuesday he's "puzzled and disappointed" in counsel who appear "unprepared" on the eve of trial in a suit by children who blame their birth defects on Lockheed Martin's chemical handling practices at an Orlando defense system manufacturing and research facility.

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Hunter Biden Blasts Winston & Strawn Tactics In Fee Row

By Emily Sawicki

As a discovery dispute between Hunter Biden and Winston & Strawn LLP drags on amid a suit over allegedly unpaid legal bills, the former president's son accused the BigLaw firm, which once represented him in a Delaware criminal case and other matters, of resorting to "what is uncomfortably close to an ad hominem attack" against him.

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Analysis

Bondi's Proposed Rule Change May Shield Her In Ethics Case

By Phillip Bantz

A federal rule change that Pam Bondi proposed before she was fired as U.S. attorney general could stymie an ethics complaint against her in Florida, which is expected to be refiled after the state bar declined to take up the case during her tenure, experts say.

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Messner Reeves Accused Of $8.3M Trust Account Fraud

By Zach Dupont

Colorado law firm Messner Reeves LLP was hit with a lawsuit Tuesday in federal court from five businesses claiming it stole more than $8 million from them in a fraudulent loan scheme involving a now-defunct sports arena and hotel project in Las Vegas.

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Alston & Bird Says Goliath Investors Can't Claim Malpractice

By Carolina Bolado

Alston & Bird LLP urged a Florida federal court on Wednesday to toss a malpractice suit claiming the firm facilitated a $328 million cryptocurrency scam at Goliath Ventures Inc., arguing that the proposed class of Goliath investors who brought the suit were never clients of the firm.

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Analysis

House GOP Again Pushes Data Privacy Bill To Override States

By Allison Grande

House Republicans on Wednesday took their latest crack at establishing a cohesive nationwide data privacy framework, floating legislation that would give consumers more control over their personal information while preempting a growing patchwork of state laws, although early criticisms indicate that the issues that have long stymied these efforts persist.

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330+ Groups Urge DOJ To Restore Immigration Aid Staff

By Courtney Bublé

More than 300 legal services providers, faith-based institutions and community groups are calling on the U.S. Department of Justice to fully restore a program that allows nonlawyers to assist low-income and indigent persons in immigration proceedings.

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Acting DOJ Inspector General Tapped For Permanent Post

By Jack Karp

President Donald Trump has nominated the U.S. Department of Justice's acting inspector general, who investigated the FBI's probe into Trump's links with Russia, to remain in that role on a permanent basis, according to a White House announcement.

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Paint Co. Says Injury Firm Used Stolen Data To Solicit Clients

By Abigail Harrison

A paint company has asked a North Carolina federal court to boot the opposing counsel in a putative data breach class action, accusing them of finding stolen data on the dark web and using it to solicit potential plaintiffs before victims were even notified of the breach.

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