Ford Says Quill & Arrow Can't Escape Lemon Law Fee Fight

By Linda Chiem

Ford Motor Co. has told a California federal judge that Quill & Arrow LLP must face claims that it saddled Ford with high-priced legal bills for work purportedly handled by virtual assistants overseas or nonlawyers, saying the personal injury firm's "fraud factory" tactics cannot continue unchecked.

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Detroit Must Face Negligence Claim Over Ambulance Crash

By Jonathan Capriel

Detroit must face claims that an ambulance driver negligently killed a patient he was transporting by running a red light at high speeds without emergency lights on and causing a crash that made it roll over, a Michigan state appeals court has ruled, saying a jury needs to hear the evidence.

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Alaska Airlines Can Move To Appeal Sick Leave Suit Ruling

By MJ Koo

A California federal court has allowed Alaska Airlines to immediately appeal a ruling that the state's sick leave protection law covers its flight attendants, pausing a proposed class action while the Ninth Circuit considers a question that could determine whether the case can proceed at all.

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Analysis

EPA's Policy Repeals May Spell Exit From Climate Regulation

By Keith Goldberg

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's latest move to undo Biden-era greenhouse gas emissions rules lays legal groundwork for the agency to completely abandon climate change regulation, though it remains to be seen whether courts will endorse a full-blown retreat.

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GM Vehicles Have 'Shuddering' Clutch Defect, Suit Says

By Mike Curley

A California man is suing General Motors LLC in Delaware federal court, alleging in a proposed class action complaint that model year 2019 to 2025 vehicles shipped with a defect in their continuously variable transmissions that leads to shuddering and stalling.

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DLA Piper, Latham Steer $1.4B Driverless Vehicle SPAC Deal

By Al Barbarino

May Mobility and blank check company ACP Holdings Acquisition Corp. said Wednesday they have agreed to merge in a deal that would take the autonomous vehicle technology company public at a $1.4 billion pro forma enterprise value.

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JB Hunt Reaches Deal To End Tobacco Fee Class Action

By Kellie Mejdrich

Trucking company J.B. Hunt has struck a deal to settle a proposed class action alleging workers who used tobacco were wrongly charged $15 per week more for healthcare, parties told an Arkansas federal court in a joint filing on Wednesday.

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House Clears Russia Sanctions Bill With New Tariff Powers

By Dylan Moroses

The U.S. House of Representatives approved legislation Wednesday that would enhance President Donald Trump's economic tools to pressure Russia and Iran, including new tariff authorities to impose duties on imports from countries found to economically support Russia, sending the bill to his desk.

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Forum Clause Doesn't Sink Yacht Builder's Fla. Suit

By Danielle Ferguson

A Florida appellate court revived a lawsuit from a Taiwanese yacht builder alleging its insurer has refused to indemnify the manufacturer for repairs to a vessel damaged in a fire on its way to Florida, ruling Wednesday that the policy did not require the dispute to be tried in a Taiwan court.

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DOJ Fights Acquittal Motion Following Okla. Bid-Fixing Verdict

By Ganesh Setty

The U.S. Department of Justice is urging an Oklahoma federal court to reject an acquittal bid from a man convicted of participating in an erosion control company's bid-rigging conspiracy that allegedly affected over $100 million in publicly funded transportation construction contracts.

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Va. DOT Warns FCC Deadlines For Permits May Be Too Short

By Aneeta Mathur-Ashton

The Virginia Department of Transportation has warned the Federal Communications Commission that a plan to limit state and local telecom permit reviews to 120 days might not offer enough time, especially if service providers' applications are faulty.

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Conservation Group Sues To Block Road Through Wash. River

By Corey Rothauser

A conservation group has sued the National Park Service over its approval of a plan to construct part of a temporary road within Washington's Stehekin River, arguing the project would disrupt salmon spawning and alter a river eligible for protection under the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System.

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Housing Developer Says Contract Winner Had Lower Scores

By Rachel Konieczny

A Georgia affordable housing developer challenged a Colorado public transit agency's decision to award a housing development contract in Denver to another developer, contending in Colorado state court that the agency relied on undisclosed evaluation criteria and declined to award the developer the contract despite its higher evaluation scores.

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McGuireWoods Lands 2 Former Boeing Attys In Seattle

By Christine DeRosa

Two former senior product liability litigators for Boeing have returned to private practice, landing at McGuireWoods LLP, the firm said Wednesday.

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Series

Law School's Missed Lessons: Cultivating Good Judgment

Law schools generally overlook the role that solid judgment skills play in real-world practice, but attorneys can bridge the gap by strengthening their abilities to assess a case’s strengths and weaknesses, develop and execute effective strategies, and provide clear recommendations to clients, says Manny Caixeiro at Venable.

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Burford Exec, Holland & Knight Adviser Open AI-Native Firm

By Andrea Keckley

Two veterans of the legal industry announced on Wednesday that they have teamed up to launch FairPlay Law, an AI-native firm based in Manhattan and focused on representing employees.

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Michael Best Combines With NY-Based Kane Kessler

By Kevin Penton

Michael Best & Friedrich LLP announced Wednesday that it is combining with New York-based firm Kane Kessler PC, adding 36 attorneys and a Big Apple presence to a firm that ranked 143rd on Law360's list of the nation's largest law firms.

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Protesters Say Feds' Fight Shows Need For Misconduct Probe

By Lauraann Wood

The U.S. government's opposition to a special investigation of prosecutorial misconduct that "poisoned" a now-dismissed criminal conspiracy case suggests Chicago prosecutors are still shielding critical details regarding the extent of official communications preceding the prosecution, underscoring the probe's necessity, protesters argued Tuesday.

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Apple Backs Its $132K Fee Ask Over 'Bad Faith' Subpoenas

By Bonnie Eslinger

Apple has urged a California federal magistrate judge to grant its $132,700 attorney fee request as a sanction against plaintiff consumers' lead lawyer in antitrust litigation claiming Google muscles out rival search engines, but said Apple's counsel doesn't want to disclose their "highly and competitively sensitive" negotiated legal rates.

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Newman Saga Prompts Bill To Limit Judicial Suspensions

By Courtney Bublé

The long-running saga over Federal Circuit Judge Pauline Newman's fitness to remain on the court has exposed "major flaws" in the judicial accountability system, according to a Republican member of the House who introduced a bill Wednesday to reform it.

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Brief

Senate Panel Weighs 6 Trump Judicial Picks From Red States

By Courtney Bublé

Six nominees for U.S. district judge appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday for their nomination hearing.

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