Analysis

AGs' Win Over Live Nation Leaves DOJ Watching From The Side

By Bryan Koenig

Live Nation Entertainment Inc.'s across-the-board trial rout by 34 state attorneys general underscores the ascendancy of state antitrust enforcers looking to fill perceived enforcement gaps left by the U.S. Department of Justice during President Donald Trump's second term.

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Meta, Uber Verdicts Top Product Liability Trials

By Emily Field

This year has brought major courtroom setbacks for tech platforms and app companies. Juries issued headline-making verdicts against Meta and Google over claims their platforms harm young users, while Uber lost its first federal bellwether trial over driver assaults and now faces a second sexual assault case.

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From Hospital Bed, Ex-Uber Driver Denies Sexual Assault

By Hayley Fowler

A former Uber driver denied sexually assaulting a North Carolina woman in a video deposition taken from his hospital bed, telling jurors in a Charlotte courtroom on Thursday that he has no memory of the passenger who is suing the ride-share giant over the alleged incident.

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Sentencing Commission Votes To Enact Modest Reform Agenda

By Stewart Bishop

The U.S. Sentencing Commission on Thursday voted to enact multiple revisions to the federal sentencing guidelines, including the first inflationary adjustment in over a decade for calculating penalties for economic crimes, but declined to take action on a series of more transformational changes that were under consideration.

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9th Circ. Says Security Officer's Firing OK For Court Review

By Grace Elletson

The Ninth Circuit found Thursday that it was fair game for a jury to consider whether a nuclear facility manager illegally fired a security officer due to his prescription opioid use, ruling the revocation of his fitness-for-duty certification didn't amount to a security clearance decision blocked from judicial review.

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Fed. Circ. Says Judge Wrongly Axed Teva's $177M Eli Lilly Win

By Ryan Davis

The Federal Circuit ruled Thursday that a Massachusetts federal judge was wrong to overturn a $177 million jury verdict that Teva won against Eli Lilly & Co. on headache drug patents, finding that contrary to the judge's finding, the patents are not invalid.

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OpenAI, Musk OK With Bifurcated Trial And Advisory Jury

By Lauren Berg

Elon Musk, OpenAI and Microsoft agreed Thursday to a California federal judge's proposal to bifurcate the trial's liability phase from the remedies phase in a case challenging the artificial intelligence company's conversion to a for-profit entity, and that the jury for the liability phase should serve on an advisory basis.

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2nd Circ. Says Animal Groups Can't Challenge Swine Rule

By Hailey Konnath

The Second Circuit on Thursday held that a trio of animal welfare groups don't have the standing to fight the U.S. Department of Agriculture's revised practices for inspecting pigs at slaughterhouses, ruling that none of the groups have shown they are likely to be harmed by the rule.

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SAP Owes $17M In Software Patent Case, Jury Finds

By Adam Lidgett

A jury in the Eastern District of Texas said Thursday afternoon that SAP America Inc. owes $17 million after finding that the company infringed a pair of software patents owned by Cyandia Inc., including one SAP had unsuccessfully challenged at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board.

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Fed. Circ. Snubs Early Appeal In Camera Tech Patent Feud

By Adam Lidgett

The Federal Circuit on Thursday denied U.S. Navy contractor FullView Inc.'s request to appeal a California federal judge's invalidation of claims in its camera technology patent for not meeting eligibility requirements and the exclusion of a damages expert's testimony in litigation against HP unit Polycom.

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Hyundai Tech Owes Hyundai Motor $2.5M In TM Case

By Elliot Weld

A small U.S. computer company called Hyundai Technology has been told to pay $2.5 million by a California federal jury to Korean automaker Hyundai Motor Co. after being accused of "piggybacking" off of the auto giant's trademark and causing confusion for consumers.

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Ex-ByteDance Exec Fights Perjury Sanction At 9th Circ.

By Bonnie Eslinger

A former ByteDance executive urged the Ninth Circuit Thursday to revive a suit he filed against the TikTok owner after he was fired, saying the case should've been heard in state court and a federal judge had no jurisdiction to order terminating sanctions after finding he perjured himself.

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Ex-Housing Worker Drops Punitive Damages Bid Against Boss

By P.J. D'Annunzio

A former Charlotte public housing authority coordinator awarded $2.34 million for her hostile work environment claims, has opted not to pursue punitive damages against her ex-supervisor, who was found liable for only $1 in compensatory damages.

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Colo. Judge Upholds $11.5M Award In HR Group Bias Suit

By Rachel Konieczny

A Colorado federal judge upheld a jury's verdict and $11.5 million award to a former employee of a global human resources association in her discrimination lawsuit against her past employer, rejecting the association's bid for a new trial.

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NJ Justices Limit Cell Tower Data Testimony To Experts

By George Woolston

The New Jersey Supreme Court on Thursday unanimously held that an expert witness is required to testify about the location of cell towers that cellphones connect to, backing a lower appeals court's reversal of a murder conviction.

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1st Circ. Nixes Cop Assault Count Over Hearsay Testimony

By Elizabeth Daley

A Puerto Rico police officer who joined three other officers in brutalizing a teenager cannot escape most of his convictions, however, the First Circuit also ruled that since his pistol whipping charge relied on recounted statements from the absent victim, the decision on that count had to be reversed.

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NY Appeals Court Orders Competency Check In Gun Case

By Elizabeth Daley

A man convicted of possessing an untraceable gun should have been reexamined for competency and potentially prevented from representing himself after repeatedly making nonsensical legal statements that sounded like what an attorney might say but did not relate at all to the case, a New York state appeals court found.

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Dems Call On Watchdog To Probe DOJ Antitrust Work

By Jake Maher

A group of Democratic federal lawmakers this week called on the U.S. Department of Justice's acting inspector general to investigate the possibility that lobbying has led to misconduct in the department's antitrust work, including the DOJ's recent surprise settlement with event ticketing giant Live Nation.

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Universal Wants $7.25M 'Harry Potter' Ride Verdict Nixed

By Mike Curley

Universal City Studios LLC and a woman injured while exiting a "Harry Potter" themed ride are asking a California federal court to vacate the $7.25 million verdict in her favor as part of a confidential settlement to the case.

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Texas Biz Court Questions Scope Of Oil Terminal Judgment

By José Luis Martínez

A Texas business court judge on Thursday contemplated how to interpret deals tied to a proposed oil export terminal, with one investor's requested declaratory and injunctive relief disputed by three defendants.

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Opinion

BNP Paribas Case Could Upend Global Banking Norms

If upheld on appeal, a New York federal jury's multimillion-dollar verdict against BNP Paribas would create an unpredictable liability landscape for global financial institutions in which fully lawful services in foreign countries can give rise to civil liability in U.S. courts, in a manner contrary to federal law, say attorneys at White & Case.

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Series

Isshin-Ryu Karate Makes Me A Better Lawyer

My involvement in martial arts, specifically Isshin-ryu, which has principles rooted in the eight codes of karate, has been one of the most foundational in the development of my personality, and particularly my approach to challenges — including in my practice of law, says Kaitlyn Stone at Barnes & Thornburg.

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Analysis

Bondi's Contempt Defenses Are Strong, But Not Without Risk

By Phillip Bantz

Former U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi currently has some potentially powerful defenses against Congress' relatively limited abilities to force her to comply with a subpoena to be deposed under oath about the Epstein files, but her exposure to being held in criminal contempt could shift with the political winds, experts said.

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Calif. Lawyer Sues Over State Bar Investigations

By Andrea Keckley

A California trial lawyer claimed in a federal lawsuit filed Wednesday that he has been unfairly investigated by the state bar since 2019, alleging the office "illegally prioritizes revenue-generation over protection of the public."

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NJ US Atty's Office Turmoil Doesn't Nix Conviction, Judge Rules

By Carla Baranauckas

A federal judge on Thursday rejected a New Jersey criminal defendant's attempt to dismiss his conviction and disqualify the state's top federal prosecutor, holding that the appointment of the current U.S. attorney complies with federal law and that any earlier defects in leadership do not warrant dismissal.

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Judiciary Panel Loves Paralegal's Idea To Modernize Briefs

By Jeff Overley

An Arizona paralegal's unsolicited idea for overhauling a procedural rule governing the format of briefs found a surprisingly enthusiastic audience Thursday at a federal judiciary meeting, where prominent officials and attorneys voiced strong interest and agreed to explore the concept in earnest.

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Ramey Says Sanctions Violation Was 'Misunderstanding'

By Elliot Weld

William Ramey, an intellectual property attorney sanctioned in several federal jurisdictions, told a California federal judge Thursday that any violations of a previous sanctions order regarding his ability to practice law in the state were due to "good-faith misunderstanding of the scope of the court's order — not willful disregard."

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Judge Doubts Broad Shift In Immigration Hearing Access

By Jared Foretek

A D.C. federal judge appeared unconvinced Thursday by a human rights group's claim that the public is getting less access to immigration court hearings in Minnesota during the second Trump administration.

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Citizens Group Says 27 States Are Eyeing AI Chatbot Laws

By Joyce Hanson

Twenty-seven U.S. states are looking at passing laws to make artificial intelligence companies face liability claims in civil suits if they fail to protect consumers who interact with chatbots, while another three states have already enacted protections, according to a citizens group's new legislative tracker.

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Optimum Defends Antitrust Suit Against Apollo, BlackRock

By Alex Wittenberg

Apollo, Ares, BlackRock and other financial giants are colluding to block Optimum Communications Inc. from negotiating a debt refinancing to avert bankruptcy, acting as a "cartel" and locking Optimum out of credit markets, Optimum said in a brief opposing the investors' bid to dismiss its antitrust suit in New York.

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