Illinois federal jurors awarded $49.5 million Wednesday to the family of a global health worker who died alongside 156 others when a Boeing jet carrying Ethiopian Airlines Flight ET 302 crashed within minutes of takeoff.
Law360
Transportation
FRIDAY, MAY 15, 2026 Law360 iOS App Law360 Android App Follow Law360 on Facebook Follow Law360 on LinkedIn Follow Law360 on Twitter

TOP NEWS

Ill. Jury Awards $49.5M To Ethiopian Air Victim's Family

By Lauraann Wood

Illinois federal jurors awarded $49.5 million Wednesday to the family of a global health worker who died alongside 156 others when a Boeing jet carrying Ethiopian Airlines Flight ET 302 crashed within minutes of takeoff.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Fla. Law Makes Lyft Immune To Passenger's Assault Suit

By Y. Peter Kang

A Florida state appeals court ruled Wednesday that a state law shielding Lyft and other ride-hailing companies from liability bars a suit over a driver's alleged assault of a passenger, noting that the law's immunity provision is "very broad."

Opinion attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

First Brands Can Sell Molding Co. For $80M In Ch. 11

By Alex Wittenberg

First Brands secured a Texas bankruptcy judge's sign-off Wednesday on the $80 million sale of Toledo Molding & Die, a deal that is expected to preserve 600 jobs and help the troubled auto parts group pay down its debt.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

AVIATION

Spirit Employees File WARN Act Suit In Ch. 11

By Emily Lever

Laid-off employees of Spirit Airlines have filed a putative class action against the debtor, demanding two months' pay and benefits following Spirit's abrupt shutdown and the loss of their jobs.

Complaint attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Business Exec Says NBA Cut Him Out Of Airline Partnership

By Tom Lotshaw

A California businessman claims the NBA should have to cough up millions of dollars in damages for cutting him out of a lucrative sponsorship deal it struck with Emirates airline.

Complaint attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

AUTOMOTIVE

Toyota Foundation Accused Of 'Ugly Injustice' In IP Theft Suit

By Rae Ann Varona

A Toyota mobility systems foundation stole trade secrets from a small Zimbabwean social enterprise by inducing the enterprise to share its proprietary mobility solutions through a joint venture agreement before excluding the enterprise from a "Smart Village" program they collaborated on, the enterprise has alleged in California federal court.

Complaint attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Tesla Shareholders Appeal Suit Dismissal Tied To Texas Move

By Sydney Price

Tesla shareholders, whose breach of fiduciary duty suit against Elon Musk and the automaker's directors was dismissed last month following the company's move to Texas, appealed the dismissal to the Delaware Supreme Court on Wednesday.

Notice attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

LOGISTICS

Event Company Says NFL's Lions Can't Block TM Suit

By Susan Smiley

A Michigan events management company on Wednesday pushed back on the Detroit Lions' request for a Michigan federal judge to toss their trademark infringement suit, arguing the NFL team did nothing to disprove U.S. Events' claim that the Lions used their protected "Motor City Muscle" slogan to promote their team jerseys without their permission.

Response attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

SUPPLY CHAIN

Split 6th Circ. Affirms $1 Damages In Touch Screen Tech Case

By Elliot Weld

A split panel of the Sixth Circuit has upheld a $1 damages award that a Michigan federal judge gave to electronics manufacturer Oldnar Corp., with two judges saying they agreed that Oldnar had not proved higher damages with reasonable certainty.

Opinion attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

INFRASTRUCTURE

Brief

Colo. Jury Awards $1.3M To I-70 Project Subcontractor

By Rachel Konieczny

A Colorado state jury declined to award $32.5 million to the lead contractor of the reconstruction project of a 10-mile stretch of Interstate 70 in Denver, finding instead that the contractor breached a subcontract and owes its subcontractor $1.3 million in damages.

2 documents attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

EV Station Builder Accused Of Masking Wages As Per Diem

By Chart Riggall

A Georgia construction contractor specializing in EV charging stations used a misleading per diem system to avoid paying its laborers overtime, a former employee alleged in a proposed collective action.

Complaint attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

PEOPLE

Thompson Hine Hires Nelson Mullins, Ex-NHTSA Atty In DC

By Jack Rodgers

Thompson Hine LLP has hired a former Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP lawyer, who the firm said helped lead one of the largest and most complex consumer product recalls in U.S. history while working at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

EXPERT ANALYSIS

How Cos. Can Navigate Iran Sanctions Risks In China

For multinational financial institutions and other companies caught between the U.S. and China’s competing compliance regimes as they relate to Iranian oil, finding a path forward will require careful, jurisdiction-specific analysis, say attorneys at Perkins Coie and Ashurst.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Series

The Biz Court Digest: Georgia Court Has Business On Its Mind

Thanks to recent legislation, the Georgia State-wide Business Court will soon offer business litigants greater access to the court than ever before, further enhancing the court's emphasis on efficiency, predictability and accessibility for sophisticated commercial disputes, says former GSBC judge Walt Davis at Jones Day.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

LEGAL INDUSTRY

Analysis

Insider Trading Case Shows BigLaw Associate Vetting Gaps

By Chris Villani

A BigLaw attorney who was able to move through three major firms while allegedly orchestrating a massive insider trading scheme may have been aided by relatively loose hiring practices for associates that firms may consider strengthening moving forward, recruiting experts told Law360.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

DOJ Asserts Broad Power In BigLaw Executive Order Appeal

By Jared Foretek

A Trump administration attorney told the D.C. Circuit on Thursday that the courts have no authority to review the president's decision to revoke someone's security clearance for any reason, including race, religion, or even refusal to pay a $1 million bribe.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Trump's 8th Circ. Pick Clears Senate Panel Vote

By Courtney Bublé

President Donald Trump's nominee for the Eighth Circuit, who represented the president in the cases brought by writer E. Jean Carroll, advanced to the full Senate on Thursday.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Thomas Urges Defense Of Constitution At Judicial Conference

By Carolina Bolado

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas urged attendees at the Eleventh Circuit Judicial Conference on Thursday to "stand up" for the U.S. Constitution and to see the positives in the country, despite its flaws, on its 250th birthday.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Fenwick Hit With FTX Suit In DC Over $525M Losses

By Emily Lever

A group of former FTX customers has sued Fenwick & West LLP in federal court in Washington over its work representing FTX from 2018 to 2022, seeking to recover more than $525 million for losses stemming from the cryptocurrency exchange's collapse.

Complaint attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

NYC Bar Endorses Random Audits For Law Firm Accounts

By Emily Sawicki

The New York City Bar Association's Professional Discipline Committee on Thursday threw its support behind a statewide bill to institute a random audit program for law firm financial accounts.

Report attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Ogletree Fights Atty's Discovery Bid For DQ Push In Bias Suit

By Lynn LaRowe

A Georgia federal court should deny a bid for discovery aimed at disqualifying Ogletree Deakins Nash Smoak & Stewart PC from defending a security company against discrimination claims because the request stems from the plaintiff's lawyer's "personal grievances," the company said Thursday.

1 document attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Lover's Ex-Wife Fights Sinema's Request For Therapy Notes

By Abigail Harrison

A bid by former U.S. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona to unearth notes and communications from a therapist working with her lover's ex-wife should be summarily denied, as the ex-wife, Heather Ammel, told a North Carolina federal court Thursday that the request is a clear overreach.

Motion attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

8th Circ. Backs Dismissal Of Horse Breeder's Malpractice Suit

By Tom Lotshaw

The Eighth Circuit said a federal judge was right to dismiss a malpractice suit a Minnesota horse breeder brought against Porter Wright Morris & Arthur LLP and one of its former attorneys for mishandling malpractice cases against three other firms.

Opinion attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Promo that reads Law360 Pulse 2026 AI Survey

COMPANIES IN TODAY'S NEWS

ADT Inc.

Association of Flight Attendants-CWA

Beacon Hill Staffing Group LLC

Delta Air Lines Inc.

Ethiopian Airlines Enterprise

First Brands Group

Ford Motor Co.

Jacobs Engineering Group Inc.

Johnson & Johnson

LinkedIn Corp.

Microsoft Corp.

Momenta Pharmaceuticals Inc.

National Basketball Association Inc.

New York City Bar Association

Onset Financial Inc.

Otis Worldwide Corp.

Panasonic Corp.

Spirit Airlines Inc.

Tesla Inc.

The Boeing Co.

The Catholic University of America

The Detroit Lions Inc.

Toyota Motor Corp.

Twitter Inc.

WSP Global Inc.

WSP Holdings Ltd.

Watanabe Schwartz

LAW FIRMS IN TODAY'S NEWS

Ashurst LLP

Boies Schiller

Bradford Andresen

Brooks Kushman

Byrd Campbell

Clement & Murphy

Cooley LLP

DLA Piper

Davis Polk

Debevoise & Plimpton

Dorsey & Whitney

Drew Cooper & Anding

Fenwick & West

Foley & Mansfield

Freshfields

Goodwin Procter

Grant & Eisenhofer

Greenberg Traurig

HKM Employment Attorneys

Hartel DeSantis

Hecker Fink

Hogan Lovells

Jenner & Block

Jones Day

King & Spalding

Kirkland & Ellis

Kitch Attorneys & Counselors

Kline & Specter

Koskoff Koskoff

Labaton Keller

Latham & Watkins

Lehman Lee

Lieff Cabraser

Lowell & Associates

Munger Tolles

Nelson Mullins

Ogletree Deakins

Olson Stein

Paul Weiss

Perkins Coie

Porter Wright

Power Rogers

Poyner Spruill

Prickett Jones

Quinn Emanuel

Richards Layton

Ross Aronstam

Saxena White

Schall Law

Sidley Austin

Smith Haughey

Squitieri & Fearon

Sullivan & Cromwell

Susman Godfrey

Taft Stettinius

Thompson Hine

Van Camp Meacham

Vorys

Wachtell Lipton

Watkins Calcara

Weil Gotshal

Williams & Connolly

WilmerHale

Winston & Strawn

Woods Aitken

deLeeuw Law

GOVERNMENT AGENCIES IN TODAY'S NEWS

Delaware Court of Chancery

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

Executive Office of the President

Federal Aviation Administration

Federal Bureau of Investigation

Georgia Department of Labor

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

Office of Foreign Assets Control

U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York

U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit

U.S. Department of Justice

U.S. Department of Transportation

U.S. Department of the Treasury

U.S. District & Bankruptcy Courts of Southern District of Texas

U.S. District Court for the Central District of California

U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia

U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts

U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas

U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission

U.S. Senate

U.S. Supreme Court

United States District Court for the District of Colorado

United States District Court for the Southern District of Georgia