TQL Seeks Ax Of Trucking Cos.' RICO Suit Over Lost Bids

By Linda Chiem

Total Quality Logistics LLC has asked a Texas federal judge to reject a Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act lawsuit from family-owned trucking companies accusing it of steering long-haul shipments to illegal "fly-by-night" or "chameleon" carriers and muscling out legitimate trucking companies.

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Ex-NOLA Injury Atty Gets 32 Months For Staging Crashes

By Christine DeRosa

A former New Orleans personal injury attorney has been sentenced to 32 months in prison for his role in a scheme to fake vehicle accidents with tractor trailers and other commercial vehicles so he could pursue lawsuits and extract settlements.

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Judge OKs NASCAR Team Data Breach Deal Citing Weak Case

By Elaine Briseño

A North Carolina federal court has granted final approval to a settlement featuring $132,000 in cash payouts to a NASCAR team's employees over a data breach, with the judge casting doubt on whether the plaintiffs could have won their case.

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Staffing App Will Pay $2.3M, Treat Drivers As Employees

By MJ Koo

A gig staffing company has agreed to pay $2.3 million and treat all its California workers as employees to end San Francisco's lawsuit in state court claiming it wrongly labeled delivery drivers as independent contractors, the city's top lawyer announced Tuesday.

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Rental App Turo Blamed For Not Clearing Stolen-Car Report

By Matthew Santoni

A Minnesota woman visiting New Jersey was detained by police in front of her child because car-sharing app Turo Inc. failed to clear a "stolen vehicle" flag on her rental car after the owners found it and put it back on the app, according to a lawsuit filed in Pennsylvania state court.

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AirPro Says Rival Used Merger Talks To Build Competing Tool

By Susan Smiley

Counsel for AirPro Diagnostics LLC urged a Sixth Circuit panel on Tuesday to reverse a lower court's summary judgment ruling and allow its breach of contract suit to proceed to trial, arguing that a rival company violated a mutual party agreement by using confidential information disclosed during merger negotiations to develop a competing diagnostic tool.

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Biz Says 50% Canadian Tariff Is Yet Another Illegal Regime

By Jack McLoone

President Donald Trump's retaliatory 50% tariffs against Canadian goods are the latest in a string of illegal trade actions and should be struck down, just like two previous regimes, according to a lawsuit filed Tuesday at the U.S. Court of International Trade.

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AI Plate Readers Don't Violate Driver Privacy, Tech Co. Argues

By Jonathan Capriel

Fleet management company Motive Technologies Inc. has asked a California federal court to end a proposed class action alleging it violated state privacy laws by secretly running a nationwide license plate surveillance network through its artificial intelligence-powered software, arguing there is no expectation of privacy on public roads.

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Squires Orders Remand Of Partial Tesla Win On Camera IP

By Adam Lidgett

U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Director John Squires has thrown out part of a Patent Trial and Appeal Board decision that Tesla showed some claims in a digital camera technology patent were invalid, saying the board has to take another look.

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States' Suit Over Trump Energy EO Sparks Broader Questions

By Rachel Riley

A Washington federal judge considering the Trump administration's bid to dismiss a multistate challenge to an executive order declaring a national energy emergency said Tuesday that the case highlights a broader dilemma: how courts should handle litigation based on "a single executive directive that sets in motion hundreds of agency decisions."  

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Tariffs Could Be Behind Surge In FTZ Production Filings

As tariffs reshape production sourcing decisions, manufacturers are seeking foreign trade zone production authority at more than twice last year's pace, making it important to consider the potential duty and export benefits, along with review delays and restrictions that can curb savings, say attorneys at Sidley.

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Kagan: High Court 'Blinded Itself' To Election Ruling Effects

By Katie Buehler

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan criticized her conservative colleagues' approach to deciding election law cases Tuesday, saying they often rule without considering the real-world consequences of their decisions. 

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Retired Judges Say DOJ's Ethics Complaint Is Meritless

By Courtney Bublé

A coalition of 61 retired federal judges has admonished the U.S. Department of Justice for filing a complaint against federal judges in Minnesota for speaking to a newspaper about the Trump administration's immigration crackdown in their state.

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Polsinelli Seeks Sanctions For 'Knowingly False' IP Suit

By Elliot Weld

Law firm Polsinelli PC has asked a Tennessee federal judge to sanction a medical device company for advancing what it says were "knowingly false and materially incomplete" positions in a suit accusing the firm of pursuing bad faith patent infringement claims on behalf of a client.

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'Petulant' Attorney Behavior Requires New Trial, 5th Circ. Says

By Cara Salvatore

The Fifth Circuit ordered a new trial Friday for a woman who was halted while speaking at a Louisiana local council meeting, saying defense lawyers for two council members threw "a skunk into the jury box" with a bevy of improper maneuvers.

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Feds Offer Up-Front Payments For Fraud Whistleblower Tips

By Lauren Berg

The U.S. Department of Justice on Tuesday announced the creation of a whistleblower incentive program offering up-front monetary awards for tips that lead to criminal fraud charges.

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Atty Used Legal Cred To Prop Up Ponzi Schemes, DOJ Says

By David Aaro

A Florida attorney was arrested Tuesday on charges of using his legal bona fides to help run two Ponzi schemes that swindled investors out of nearly $2 million, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

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