Public Policy

September 09, 2025
4th Circ. Debates Whether 'Silence' In 340B Empowers States

Two states told a Fourth Circuit panel on Tuesday that "silence" in the law governing the federal government's drug discount program permits state enforcers to step in and regulate the delivery of those drugs to their communities.
September 09, 2025
Calif. AG Sues Over 'Uninhabitable,' 'Inhumane' LA Jails

California Attorney General Rob Bonta has sued the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department over the "inhumane" and "uninhabitable" conditions at county jails, pointing to an increase in in-custody deaths and facilities that allegedly lack adequate plumbing, sanitation and temperature control.
September 09, 2025
DOD's Cybersecurity Rule May Help Fend Off FCA Claims

The U.S. Department of Defense's requirement for certain contractors to have a third-party assessor review their cybersecurity compliance, implemented in a final rule Tuesday, could help contractors protect themselves from False Claims Act enforcement.
September 09, 2025
DC Circ. Talks 'Hypos' On Maritime Refusal To Deal Challenge

The D.C. Circuit is set to decide whether a rule that the Federal Maritime Commission passed to deal with COVID-19 supply line shortages allows the agency to engage in illegal rate-setting after spending part of its morning hammering the parties with hypotheticals.
September 09, 2025
FCC OKs Waivers For Smart House Locks

The Federal Communications Commission agreed Tuesday to make some exceptions to its rules for ultra-wideband devices — specifically a requirement that they be handheld — so a pair of companies can ensure their smart locks have the agency's seal of approval.
September 09, 2025
Hemp Interests Drop Challenge To Louisiana THC Law

A cannabis industry group and a wholesaler have asked a Louisiana federal judge to dismiss their lawsuit seeking to block the state from imposing new restrictions on consumables infused with hemp-derived THC.
September 09, 2025
FDIC Eases Standards For Lifting Cease-And-Desist Orders

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. is giving banks a quicker potential path out of its doghouse, rolling out a policy change that allows more flexibility to close out enforcement orders before firms have finished satisfying all their terms.
September 09, 2025
Calif. Bar Seeks Justices' Clarity In Eastman Disbarment Case

The State Bar of California asked the state's justices to affirm recommendations to disbar Donald Trump's onetime attorney John Eastman, who helped plan and promote the then-presidential candidate's strategy to overturn the 2020 election, but also review what it says are two legal errors that could "significantly impact future cases."
September 09, 2025
Trump Admin Blocked From Boston Hospital Trans Care Docs

A Massachusetts federal judge on Tuesday blocked the Trump administration's bid to gain access to a wide array of documents related to gender-affirming care at Boston Children's Hospital, finding that the request is a veiled attempt to limit such care in the state.
September 09, 2025
OCC Taps Cravath Atty As Principal Deputy Chief Counsel

A former Cravath Swaine & Moore LLP corporate attorney has been tapped to serve as the principal deputy chief counsel of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, while a longtime agency official has been promoted to oversee its newly elevated chartering and licensing process, the regulator said Tuesday.
September 09, 2025
Colo. Justices Rule Interest Not Covered By $1M Med Mal Cap

The Colorado Supreme Court has ruled that the state's $1 million cap on medical malpractice damages doesn't encompass certain interest awards when the so-called good cause exception applies, in a suit accusing a doctor of causing a baby's severe brain injury.
September 09, 2025
5th Circ. Says Jarkesy Doesn't Doom OCC Enforcement Action

A Fifth Circuit panel has upheld industry bans and $250,000 fines against two former top executives of a failed Texas bank, rejecting their bid to overturn an Office of the Comptroller of the Currency enforcement order, finding that the OCC's in-house proceedings and ordered sanctions did not violate the executives' constitutional right to a jury trial.
September 09, 2025
Atty Flashes Weed In NC High Court To Challenge Odor Test

A defense attorney on Tuesday pulled out a bag of weed in front of North Carolina's seven justices and a courtroom full of sheriffs to illustrate the outcome of letting officers conduct warrantless searches based on the smell of pot alone, saying such a test doesn't work in the age of legalized hemp.
September 09, 2025
Mich. Appeals Court Unsure It Can Force Through Stalled Bills

A Michigan state appeals court panel wrestled Tuesday with whether courts have the power to compel members of the state's House of Representatives to deliver to the governor legislation that was passed last year by their political opponents.
September 09, 2025
7 Enviro Cases To Watch At The Supreme Court

The U.S. Supreme Court is considering a slew of environmental cases for the coming term, including jurisdiction disputes in pipeline and pollution cases, a challenge to a Washington State climate change law and Monsanto's bid to undo a $1.2 million weed killer cancer award.
September 09, 2025
PTAB Leader Urges Specificity In Discretionary Denial Briefs

The Patent Trial and Appeal Board's acting chief judge urged litigants Tuesday to support the arguments they make in the board's new discretionary denial process with specific details about their cases, during a panel where lawyers expressed both frustration about and praise for the system.
September 09, 2025
Head Start Immigration Checks May Be Paused, Judge Hints

A Washington federal judge seemed open to freezing a Trump administration policy requiring Head Start participants to prove citizenship, directing questions during a Tuesday hearing to how children will be affected after three decades of contrary practice.
September 09, 2025
Ky. Judge Pauses Suit Over CFPB's Small-Biz Loan Rule

A Kentucky federal judge on Tuesday paused a banking industry lawsuit challenging the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's small business lender data collection rule while the agency works to revamp the Biden-era measure.
September 09, 2025
Trump's Latest Tariff EO Offers Some Relief, But No Certainty

President Donald Trump's latest tariff executive order essentially creates an exclusion process for many goods not readily available in the U.S. if the exporter countries enter trade agreements with the U.S., a strategic shift cautiously welcomed by importers even as they still seek certainty for their supply chains.
September 09, 2025
NY Climate Law Challenge Moved To Join Similar Case

A federal judge has denied business groups' bid to keep a suit challenging New York's climate Superfund law in the Southern District of New York, saying they must pursue the case in the Northern District where Republican-led states brought similar litigation first.
September 09, 2025
New York State And Mohawk Tribe Settle 43-Year Land Dispute

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said the state has reached a settlement agreement with the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe ending a decadeslong land purchase dispute, noting that the deal includes restoring tribal members' access to islands on the St. Lawrence River, improved power usage and education benefits.
September 09, 2025
States, Oil Groups Push For Wins In Drilling Ban Fight

Republican-led states and oil and gas industry groups pushed for a victory in their lawsuits challenging now-rescinded Biden-era memos that closed off federal waters to offshore drilling, telling a Louisiana federal judge that the memos were clearly unconstitutional.
September 09, 2025
Calif. Bashes EPA's Effort To Toss Truck Emissions Petitions

California, along with a group of states and cities, urged the Ninth Circuit on Monday to reject the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's motion to dismiss petitions challenging Clean Air Act waivers allowing the Golden State to make its own truck emissions standards, saying separate litigation should first play out.
September 09, 2025
IRS Ordered To Notify Court Of ICE Info-Sharing Requests

A D.C. federal judge in a series of orders Friday and Tuesday said the IRS must notify the court within 24 hours of receiving a request from immigration authorities for taxpayer information and hand over administrative records while the court considers a request to stop the intergovernmental data sharing.
September 09, 2025
DC Says Crypto ATM Operator Profits Off Senior Scams

Athena Bitcoin, one of the country's largest operators of so-called bitcoin automated teller machines, has been sued by the D.C. attorney general for allegedly charging undisclosed fees on deposits it knew were often the result of scams, for failing to implement adequate anti-fraud measures, and for refusing to refund scam victims.

Editor's Picks

Trump's Legal Battles

States, federal employee unions, various advocacy groups and several individuals have filed over 220 lawsuits challenging the Trump administration's implementation of executive orders and other initiatives. Law360 has created a database of those lawsuits, separated into categories based on their subject matter.

Expert Analysis

A Changing Playbook For Fighting Records Requests In Del.

The Delaware Supreme Court's recent decision in Wong v. Amazon, reversing the denial of an inspection demand brought by a stockholder, serves as a stark warning to corporations challenging books and records requests, making clear that companies cannot defeat such demands solely by attacking the scope of their stated purpose, say attorneys at Duane Morris.
Tesla Verdict May Set New Liability Benchmarks For AV Suits

The recent jury verdict in Benavides v. Tesla is notable not only for a massive payout — including $200 million in punitive damages — but because it apportions fault between the company's self-driving technology and the driver, inviting more scrutiny of automated vehicle marketing and technology, says Michael Avanesian at Avian Law Group.
Insuring Against FCA Risk In Shifting Trade Landscape

In today's heightened trade enforcement environment, companies should proactively assess whether their insurance programs are positioned to respond to potential False Claims Act or customs-related claims, including reviewing directors and officers, professional liability, and representations and warranties policies for key terms, say attorneys at Pillsbury.
What To Expect As Trump's 401(k) Order Materializes

Following the Trump administration’s recent executive order on 401(k) plan investments in alternative assets like cryptocurrencies and real estate, the U.S. Department of Labor and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission will need to answer several outstanding questions before any regulatory changes are implemented, say attorneys at Cleary.
Demystifying The Civil Procedure Rules Amendment Process

Every year, an advisory committee receives dozens of proposals to amend the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, most of which are never adopted — but a few pointers can help maximize the likelihood that an amendment will be adopted, says Josh Gardner at DLA Piper.
RI Menopause Law Brings New Considerations For Employers

Rhode Island becoming the first state to provide express antidiscrimination and accommodation protections for employees' menopause-related conditions may be a bellwether for similar protections in other jurisdictions, so employers should consider that while such benefits may improve recruitment and retention, complications may arise from voluntarily adding them, say attorneys at Proskauer.
A Foreign Currency Breach Won't Always Sink EB-5 Cases

Recent court decisions show that, while EB-5 investors must be able to show the lawfulness of their funds and methods of transfer, a third-party currency exchanger's violation of another country’s currency export control law does not, by itself, taint the funds for purposes of U.S. investment, says Jun Li at Reid & Wise.
How The 5th, DC Circuits Agreed On FCC Forfeiture Orders

The Fifth and D.C. Circuits split this year on the Federal Communications Commission's process for adjudicating enforcement actions, but both implicitly recognized the problem with penalizing a party based on a forfeiture order that has not yet been challenged in any way in court, says Jared Marx at HWG.
FTC, CoStar Cases Against Zillow May Have Broad Impact

Zillow's partnerships with Redfin and Realtor.com have recently triggered dual fronts of legal scrutiny — an antitrust inquiry from the Federal Trade Commission and a mass copyright infringement suit from CoStar — raising complex questions that reach beyond real estate, says Shubha Ghosh at Syracuse University College of Law.
'Solicit' Ruling Offers Proxy Advisers Compliance Relief

The D.C. Circuit recently found that proxy voting advice does not fall under the legal definition of "solicitation," significantly narrowing the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's regulatory power over such advisers, offering stability to the proxy advisory industry and providing temporary relief from new compliance burdens, say attorneys at Sheppard Mullin.
SAM Update May Ease Tricky Timing Technicalities

The Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council's recent rule update, clarifying the System for Award Management's registration requirement, may reduce the number of disqualifications and bid protests resulting from minor lapses, but government contractors should still implement procedures to ensure early submission of registration renewals, say attorneys at Butzel Long.
Evaluating The SEC's Rising Whistleblower Denial Rate

The rising trend of U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission whistleblower award claim denials represents a departure from the SEC's previous track record and may reflect a more conservative approach to whistleblower award determinations under the current administration, say attorneys at Troutman Pepper.
State Crypto Regs Diverge As Federal Framework Dawns

Following the Genius Act's passage, states like California, New York and Wyoming are racing to set new standards for crypto governance, creating both opportunity and risk for digital asset firms as innovation flourishes in some jurisdictions while costly friction emerges in others, say attorneys at Sheppard Mullin.
How 2nd Circ. Cannabis Ruling Upends NY Licensing

A recent Second Circuit decision in Variscite NY Four v. New York, holding that New York's extra-priority cannabis licensing preference for applicants with in-state marijuana convictions violates the dormant commerce clause, underscores that state-legal cannabis markets remain subject to the same constitutional constraints as other economic markets, say attorneys at Harris Beach.
Key Insurance Coverage Considerations For AI Data Centers

The burgeoning artificial intelligence industry has sparked a surge in data center projects — a trend likely to be accelerated by the White House's AI Action Plan — but with these complex facilities come equally complex risks, engendering important insurance coverage considerations, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.