Monsanto Wins High Court Fight Over Roundup Cancer Warnings

By Emily Field

The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday handed Monsanto a win in its long-running litigation battle over the labeling of alleged cancer risks of its bestselling weedkiller Roundup, clearing the path for a $7.25 billion settlement to end thousands of suits facing the Bayer AG unit by finding that the state law claims underlying a $1.25 million jury verdict are barred.

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Palisades Fire Jury Says It Can't Agree On Arson Verdict

By Rae Ann Varona

Federal jurors in Los Angeles were at a standstill Thursday on whether Florida resident Jonathan Rinderknecht is guilty of setting what would later become the deadly Palisades Fire in January 2025, clarifying they "cannot reach a unanimous verdict" when asked if the court could give them any assistance.

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NY Prosecutors Drop Weinstein Rape Charge After Mistrial

By Frank G. Runyeon

Prosecutors told a New York judge Thursday that they will drop a third-degree rape charge against Harvey Weinstein after two consecutive juries deadlocked on the allegation by actor Jessica Mann.

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Epstein Files Don't Warrant Maxwell Retrial, Feds Say

By Cara Salvatore

Ghislaine Maxwell's claim that the Epstein Files Transparency Act has unearthed new evidence requiring that she receive a new trial has no merit, New York federal prosecutors have told a judge.

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Detroit Club Hit With Nearly $6.3M In Race Retaliation Verdict

By Melanie Dorsey

Former Detroit Club server Miya Shani Hooks audibly sobbed Thursday as a federal jury found the club and its owner liable for retaliating against three former employees who said they had spoken out against racist treatment of Black guests and staff. 

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Robo-Surgery Co., FTC Urge 9th Circ. To Revive Antitrust Case

By Bonnie Eslinger

Surgical Instrument Service and the Federal Trade Commission urged the Ninth Circuit on Thursday to revive the company's case accusing Intuitive Surgical of blocking third parties from refurbishing components for its da Vinci surgery robot, saying a lower court erred in requiring the U.S. Supreme Court's Kodak factors to be proven.

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Hyundai Motor Says Jury Had It Right With $2.5M TM Verdict

By Elliot Weld

Hyundai Motor Co. has asked a California federal judge to reject a request from a computer company called Hyundai Technology for a new trial after a jury awarded the automaker $2.5 million for trademark infringement, saying the technology company was willfully ignoring the many examples of consumer confusion.

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Walmart Worker's $23M Retaliation Verdict Slashed To $300K

By Grace Elletson and Rachel Riley

A Washington federal judge on Thursday reduced a $23 million verdict handed to a former Walmart employee who claimed she was fired for reporting sexual harassment, saying a statutory damages cap requires the court to cut the victory to $300,000.

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Insurance Mogul Wants Atty Access To Fight $1.6B Restitution

By Abigail Harrison

A recently sentenced insurance magnate is asking a North Carolina federal court to order the federal Bureau of Prisons to grant him daily access to computers and his attorneys as he continues to fight a $1.6 billion restitution order.

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Mich. Justices Revive BAC Proof In Fatal Crash Prosecution

By Susan Smiley

The Michigan Supreme Court ruled that a jury should be allowed to hear evidence that a motorcyclist killed in a traffic collision may have been intoxicated at the time of the crash, reversing lower court decisions that excluded the evidence from a criminal prosecution against the driver of the other vehicle.

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Fla. Panel Affirms Walmart Liability In Contractor Shock Injury

By David Minsky

A Florida appellate court affirmed a final judgment finding Walmart negligent for a service technician's shock-induced injury during the installation of an automatic door, ruling that an exception barred the retailer from asserting an independent contractor defense to avoid a duty owed to the worker.

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Lack Of Evidence Sinks Insurance Fraud Case, Atty Says

By Emily Sawicki

A Louisiana law firm and lawyer found guilty of criminal conspiracy and wire fraud for staging vehicle crashes as part of a scheme to defraud insurance carriers and trucking companies are seeking acquittal or a new trial, arguing that federal prosecutors failed to support their claims with evidence.

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4th Circ. Says Supply Co.'s Foreign Member Kills Diversity

By Gina Kim

The Fourth Circuit on Thursday declined to reinstate a medical supply company's contract dispute against a U.K. corporation over COVID-19 test kits, after finding that the lack of a U.S. citizen on the supply company's side destroys the court's diversity jurisdiction to hear the case.  

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Series

Moshing Makes Me A Better Lawyer

Entering a mosh pit is much like entering the practice of law — it is difficult, you have to know both the written and unwritten rules, and conduct yourself according to the expectations of each community, says Christopher Deubert at Constangy Brooks.

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Groombridge Wu Tops Milbank Pay Scale For Associates

By Kevin Penton

Groombridge Wu Baughman & Stone LLP is the latest firm to top the pay scale for associates announced earlier this month by Milbank LLP, with attorneys set to earn as much as $470,000.

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Senate Confirming Judges Faster Than In Trump's 1st Term

By Courtney Bublé

The Senate has confirmed 45 judges in the second Trump term, outpacing the rate of his first administration, Senate Republicans announced on Thursday.

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Attys Urged To Challenge Clients Who Demand AI Research

By Aaron Keller

A Connecticut federal judge urged attorneys during a Thursday sanctions hearing to push back against clients who demand lawyers use generative artificial intelligence tools to conduct legal research, saying the technology is no substitute for professional judgment and discretion because it "aims to please" and can misstate the law.

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SCOTUSblog Founder Goldstein Blasts 'Inflated' DOJ Tax Math

By Jared Foretek

Convicted SCOTUSblog founder Tom Goldstein and federal prosecutors are clashing again over their dramatically divergent sentencing recommendations, with the defense accusing the government of presenting a "one-dimensional caricature" of the famed lawyer in seeking an eight-year sentence, and prosecutors accusing him of potentially deleting "secret chats" with his gambling backers.

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Feds Say Would-Be Kavanaugh Assassin Was Let Off Easy

By Nadia Dreid

Both federal prosecutors and a Stephen Miller-founded public interest group believe that a Maryland federal judge let a woman accused of trying to kill U.S. Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh off too easy because of her gender identity and want the Fourth Circuit to order resentencing.

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Quinn Emanuel Says 3M Fee Proposal Undervalues Its Work

By Carolina Bolado

Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP has objected to a special master's recommendation on the allocation of common benefit fees in the $6 billion settlement that ended multidistrict litigation against 3M over allegedly faulty combat earplugs, saying the amount doesn't value the "length, extent and impact" of the firm's work.

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