Amazon Faces Revived Suit Over Teens' Sodium Nitrite Deaths

By Ben Adlin

A Ninth Circuit panel on Thursday reopened a lawsuit against Amazon brought by the families of two teens who used sodium nitrite purchased through the retailer to take their own lives, ruling that the families' negligence and product liability claims can move forward under Washington state law.

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

Wash. Lawmakers Pass Bill On Worker Eligibility Inspections

By Ganesh Setty

The Washington State Legislature has passed a bill requiring employers to provide notice to their employees if the federal government requests records relating to their work eligibility. 

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

Full 9th Circ. Deeply Divided On Rehearing TPS Vacatur

By Britain Eakin

The full Ninth Circuit delivered 51 pages of concurrences and dissents while declining to revisit a unanimous panel decision that found Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem lacked the authority to vacate a temporary protected status extension for Venezuela.

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

Wash. Justices OK Jury Instruction In TB Malpractice Case

By Rachel Riley

The Washington State Supreme Court declined Thursday to flip a family's loss in a case blaming an Evergreen State doctor for failing to address signs of an intestinal tuberculosis infection that led to a patient's death, rejecting a challenge to a jury instruction on the physician's exercise of judgment.

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

Amazon 'Sensitive Skin' Body Wash Targeted In Class Action

By Rachel Riley

Amazon has been accused of deceptively promoting its Amazon Basics-branded body wash as "hypoallergenic," "unscented" and suitable for "sensitive skin," despite containing chemical fragrance and other skin irritants, with a proposed class action launched in Seattle federal court on Thursday.

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

Valve Faces 'Loot Box' Gambling Suits After NY AG's Action

By Ben Adlin

On the heels of the New York attorney general's accusations that Washington-based Valve Corp. promotes illegal gambling through its popular video game franchises, gamers filed two putative class actions in Seattle federal court similarly targeting the entertainment giant's use of "loot boxes."

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

9th Circ. Partially Lifts Block On Calif. Kids' Privacy Law

By Allison Grande

The Ninth Circuit on Thursday scrapped part of an injunction halting a groundbreaking California law requiring social media platforms to bolster privacy protections for children, finding that the tech trade group behind the lawsuit wasn't likely to succeed on its First Amendment challenge to the statute's coverage definition and age estimation mandate.

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

What The CFTC's Event Contracts Amicus Brief Is Missing

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission's recent amicus brief in the Ninth Circuit's North American Derivatives Exchange v. Nevada case declines to define the boundary between swaps and wagers, leaving market participants, exchanges and intermediaries operating within a regulatory framework whose boundaries remain undrawn, says Tamara de Silva at De Silva Law Offices.

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

Series

Podcasting Makes Me A Better Lawyer

Podcasting has changed how I ask questions and connect with people, sharpening my ability to listen without interrupting or prejudging, and bringing me closer to what law is meant to be: a human profession grounded in understanding, judgment and trust, says Donna DiMaggio Berger at Becker.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

4th Circ. Scolds Atty Suspected Of Using AI In Race Bias Suit

By Patrick Hoff

The Fourth Circuit has reprimanded an attorney suspected of using generative artificial intelligence to draft briefs in a race discrimination lawsuit against Baltimore Gas and Electric Co., warning that courts need to grapple with the technology as it "may soon become the norm."

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

Democrats Seek Review Of Bondi's Role In Brother's Cases

By Alison Knezevich

Two Democratic lawmakers have asked the U.S. Department of Justice's inspector general to review whether Attorney General Pam Bondi "adequately recused herself" from cases involving clients represented by her brother Brad Bondi, who is a partner at Paul Hastings LLP.

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

Sinema Says Tryst With Ex-Guard Not In NC Court's Reach

By Abigail Harrison

Former U.S. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, now a Hogan Lovells attorney, told a North Carolina federal court Thursday that a lawsuit alleging her cross-country affair with a former member of her security detail ended a 14-year marriage must be dismissed because the trysts occurred outside state borders.

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

Ex-Judge Testifies About Alleged Forgeries In Amazon Case

By Kelcey Caulder

The former chief judge of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia testified Thursday about the alleged forging of court documents, signatures and court stamps in a criminal case against a woman accused of defrauding Amazon out of $9.4 million through fraudulent invoices. 

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Judge Newman Takes Suspension Battle To Supreme Court

By Ryan Davis

Federal Circuit Judge Pauline Newman brought her fight against a suspension imposed on her by her colleagues to the U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday, arguing that a lower court wrongly held that her challenges to the order are not subject to judicial review.

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

Calif. Bar Says Internal Docs Bolster Claims Against Exam Co.

By Emily Sawicki

The State Bar of California has bulked up its breach of contract and fraud suit against the administrator of its "disastrous" February 2025 bar exam, filing an amended complaint in light of information it says it learned from internal communications unearthed amid discovery.

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

Holyoak's US Attorney Nomination Advances

By Courtney Bublé

The nomination of Melissa Holyoak, former commissioner of the Federal Trade Commission, to be U.S. attorney for the District of Utah was sent to the full Senate on Thursday.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

CFTC Takes 1st Steps Toward Prediction Market Regulations

By Jessica Corso

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission opened the door Thursday to promised prediction market regulation, calling for public feedback on what such rules might look like while laying out the staff's view on the current rules that the platforms should follow in order to offer betting on sports and other events.

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