Transportation

  • December 22, 2025

    Airbus Sued Over Fatal Helicopter Crash In New Jersey

    The families of a pilot and a news photographer killed in a helicopter crash while working for a Philadelphia television station have sued helicopter manufacturer Airbus, along with companies that maintained the helicopter and supplied the hydraulic system parts blamed for causing the crash two years ago in New Jersey.

  • December 22, 2025

    Ex-Derailment Deal Admin Will Pay $17M To End Contempt Bid

    The ousted administrator of Norfolk Southern's $600 million settlement over the derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, will pay $17.25 million to resolve claims that it mishandled the distribution of payouts, according to deal terms approved Monday. 

  • December 22, 2025

    Mercedes Inks $150M Deal In Emissions Cheating Claims

    Mercedes-Benz USA LLC and Mercedes-Benz Group AG have reached a nearly $150 million national settlement with state attorneys general amid allegations that they sold and leased vehicles equipped with devices capable of defeating emissions tests.

  • December 19, 2025

    GM Says Brake Defect Suit Fails Because Cars Were Repaired

    General Motors asked a Pennsylvania federal judge to dismiss a putative class action accusing the automaker of selling vehicles with defective brake systems, arguing because the plaintiffs had their vehicles repaired by the carmaker's dealers, no harm was done.

  • December 19, 2025

    Boies Schiller Partner Pitched As First Brands Examiner

    A Boies Schiller Flexner LLP partner with experience in matters spanning from asset recovery to international investigations and high-wire global matters has been tapped to probe the bankruptcy of auto parts maker First Brands Group as a Chapter 11 examiner.

  • December 19, 2025

    App Makers Tell 9th Circ. It Got Google Maps Facts Wrong

    App makers asked the Ninth Circuit to rethink their proposed antitrust class action accusing Google of locking out rival maps products, arguing a panel refused to revive the case only because it did "not address and ignored" their allegations.

  • December 19, 2025

    Michigan Can't Shut Down Enbridge Pipeline, Judge Says

    A federal judge has agreed with energy infrastructure company Enbridge that Michigan cannot unilaterally shut down an international petroleum pipeline that crosses the Great Lakes, ruling that oversight of the pipeline falls to the federal government.

  • December 19, 2025

    Michigan's 5 Biggest Court Rulings Of 2025

    Michigan courts had a memorable year in 2025, issuing rulings that extended protections against automatic life sentences to young adults, struck down abortion restrictions and pulled the plug on criminal cases related to President Donald Trump's so-called fake elector plot.

  • December 19, 2025

    Driver Scantly Involved In Crash Can't Skirt Liability

    A Michigan appellate panel upheld a trial court's finding that a vehicle can be considered involved in a crash even if it made minimal contact with other cars if its driver's emergency actions contribute to the overall crash, and a jury should determine the insurer's liability in a no-fault dispute.

  • December 19, 2025

    Rail Giants Pitch $85B Deal To Transportation Regulators

    Union Pacific Corp. and Norfolk Southern Corp. submitted the required application for their planned $85 billion merger on Friday, telling regulators the rail networks have few overlaps and that a combined system will allow freight to move faster and more efficiently across the country.

  • December 19, 2025

    Del. Justices Reinstate Elon Musk's $56B-Plus Pay Package

    Elon Musk saw his once-$56 billion, now larger, Tesla Inc. compensation package rescued Friday, as the Delaware Supreme Court reversed a lower court ruling from January 2024 that voided a board and stockholder-approved pay deal.

  • December 19, 2025

    IRS Relaxes Carbon Capture Credit's Environmental Reporting

    The Internal Revenue Service released guidance Friday easing the carbon capture tax credit's environmental reporting requirements, taking effect by the end of the year, for energy systems that permanently secure the emissions in geological locations, such as deep underground rock formations.

  • December 19, 2025

    BigLaw And Boutiques Both Shine In 2025's Top 10 Deals

    A tight circle of elite law firms guided the way as megadeals roared back with force in 2025, while a small group of specialist and international firms also made their mark across global transactions spanning infrastructure, gaming, pharmaceuticals, artificial intelligence and energy.

  • December 19, 2025

    Geico Agents Secure Some Discovery In Misclassification Suit

    Geico must produce more information related to a retaliation claim and the authenticity and completeness of its retirement and welfare plans in a suit lodged by former agents alleging the insurer denied them benefits by misclassifying them as independent contractors, an Ohio federal judge ruled.

  • December 19, 2025

    The 6 Biggest Rulings By Massachusetts' Top Court In 2025

    Massachusetts' top court rejected a novel double jeopardy claim in a headline-grabbing murder case, revived claims against Harvard over a "ghoulish" scheme, and said a Snapchat Bitmoji could show police bias, among other significant rulings this year.

  • December 19, 2025

    Chancery Keeps Alive Electric Vehicle Co. SPAC Suit

    Most counts have gone forward in a Delaware Court of Chancery suit alleging an unfair "blank check" company take-public merger with a since-reorganized electric vehicle company that faced allegedly undisclosed supply chain problems.

  • December 18, 2025

    The Biggest Rulings From A Busy Year At The 1st Circ.

    The nation's smallest federal appellate panel punched above its weight in 2025, grappling with numerous suits against the Trump administration, high-profile criminal appeals, a $34 million legal fee bid and a hotly contested kickback law.

  • December 18, 2025

    SF, Oakland Near Settlement In Airport Name Trademark Fight

    The Port of Oakland has cut a tentative deal with the city and county of San Francisco to resolve a trademark infringement suit over Oakland renaming its international airport to include "San Francisco Bay," according to a joint stipulation filed in California federal court Wednesday.

  • December 18, 2025

    Feds Admit Role In DC Air Crash; Judge Reiterates Gag Order

    The U.S. government admitted partial liability in court for the deadly midair collision between an Army helicopter and an American Airlines plane, and subsequent comments to the media from one of the victims' attorneys prompted a sanctions threat from the judge.

  • December 18, 2025

    UAW Leaders Deleted Retaliation Plot Texts, Monitor Finds

    A watchdog overseeing United Auto Workers' kickback-scandal reforms told a Michigan judge Thursday that UAW President Shawn Fain and top officials obstructed his investigation into their plot to oust the secretary-treasurer by deleting more than 100 text messages, including one message comparing their plot's success to "epically [dunking] on another player in basketball."

  • December 18, 2025

    Uber Injury Claims Barred By Release, Ill. Panel Says

    An Illinois state appeals court has refused to revive a lawsuit seeking to hold Uber liable for the injuries a bicyclist suffered when he was struck by an Uber driver, finding he cannot bring his suit because of a release agreement he signed when he received a payout from Liberty Mutual.

  • December 18, 2025

    Top Trade Secrets Decisions Of 2025

    The Ninth Circuit clarified the rules of engagement in trade secrets disputes with guidance on when confidential information must be precisely detailed during litigation, and jurors delivered a $200 million verdict against Walmart over product freshness technology. Here are Law360's picks for the biggest trade secrets decisions of 2025.

  • December 18, 2025

    9th Circ. Revives National Forest Road Injury Claim

    A timber worker who suffered injuries when his excavator slid off a Washington road under the control of the U.S. Forest Service will get the opportunity to take his claims to trial, the Ninth Circuit ruled Wednesday, saying a jury needs to decide whether the worker's employer or the federal government was responsible for the road's upkeep.

  • December 18, 2025

    Tricolor Can Sell 10,000 Cars In Ch. 7, Judge Says

    A Texas bankruptcy judge agreed Thursday to approve bankrupt subprime car loan lender Tricolor's procedures for a quick sale of about 10,000 cars in its inventory, saying the debtor appeared to have earned its speedy timeline.

  • December 18, 2025

    Monarch Overhyped 'Driver-Optional' Tractors, Ex-Dealer Says

    A Washington farm supply store sued California-based Monarch Tractor — which bills itself as the maker of "the world's first autonomous tractor" — in Seattle federal court Thursday, claiming the company's MK-V vehicles "did not perform as represented and were unable to operate in the autonomous manner represented."

Expert Analysis

  • What To Know About Bill Aiming To Curb CIPA

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    A bill pending in the California Assembly would amend the California Invasion of Privacy Act to allow for the use of website tracking technologies for commercial business purposes, limiting class actions seeking damages under the act for industry standard practices, say Katherine Alphonso and Avazeh Pourhamzeh at Kaufman Dolowich.

  • State Law Challenges In Enforcing Arbitration Clauses

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    In recent cases, state courts in Pennsylvania, Massachusetts and New Jersey have considered or endorsed heightened standards for arbitration agreements, which can mean the difference between a bilateral arbitration and a full-blown class action in court, says Fabien Thayamballi at Shapiro Arato.

  • How Attys Can Use AI To Surface Narratives In E-Discovery

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    E-discovery has reached a turning point where document review is no longer just about procedural tasks like identifying relevance and redacting privilege — rather, generative artificial intelligence tools now allow attorneys to draw connections, extract meaning and tell a coherent story, says Rose Jones at Hilgers Graben.

  • A Look At Florida's New Protected Series LLC Legislation

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    A new law in Florida enhances the flexibility of using limited liability companies as the entities of choice for most privately held businesses, moving Florida into a small group of states with reliable uniform protected series legislation for series LLCs, says Louis Conti at Holland & Knight.

  • Harmonized Int'l Framework May Boost Advanced Aircraft

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    International differences in the certification process for advanced air mobility aircraft make the current framework insufficient — but U.S. Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy's recent announcement of a standards harmonization effort may help promote these innovative aviation technologies, while maintaining safety, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • Series

    Playing The Violin Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Playing violin in a string quartet reminds me that flexibility, ambition, strong listening skills, thoughtful leadership and intentional collaboration are all keys to a successful legal practice, says Julie Park at MoFo.

  • DOJ Enforcement Trends To Watch In 2nd Half Of 2025

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    Recent investigations, settlements and a declination to prosecute suggest that controlling the flow of goods into and out of the country, and redressing what the administration sees as reverse discrimination, are likely to be at the forefront of the U.S. Department of Justice's enforcement agenda the rest of this year, say attorneys at Baker Botts.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Practicing Self-Care

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    Law schools don’t teach the mental, physical and emotional health maintenance tools necessary to deal with the profession's many demands, but practicing self-care is an important key to success that can help to improve focus, manage stress and reduce burnout, says Rachel Leonard​​​​​​​ at MG+M.

  • Forensic Challenges In Lithium-Ion Battery Fire Cases

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    Lawsuits over lithium-ion battery fires and explosions often center on the core question of whether the battery was defective or combusted due to some other external factor — so both plaintiff and defense attorneys litigating these cases must understand the forensic issues involved, says Drew LaFramboise at Joseph Greenwald.

  • ABA Opinion Makes It A Bit Easier To Drop A 'Hot Potato'

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    The American Bar Association's recent ethics opinion clarifies when attorneys may terminate clients without good cause, though courts may still disqualify a lawyer who drops a client like a hot potato, so sending a closeout letter is always a best practice, say attorneys at Thompson Hine.

  • Federal Construction Considerations Amid Policy Overhaul

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    The rapid overhaul of federal procurement, heightened domestic sourcing rules and aggressive immigration enforcement are reshaping U.S. construction, but several pragmatic considerations can help federal contractors engaged in infrastructure and public construction avoid the legal, financial and operational fallout, say attorneys at Cozen O'Connor.

  • Tesla's Robotaxi Push Exposes Gaps In Product Liability Law

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    As Tesla's deployment of robotaxis on public roads in Austin, Texas, faces regulatory scrutiny and legislative pushback, the legal community confronts an unprecedented challenge: how to apply traditional fault principles, product liability laws and insurance practices to vehicles that operate as rolling computers, says Don Fountain at Clark Fountain.

  • Justices Rewrite Rules For Challenging Enviro Agency Actions

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    Three recent U.S. Supreme Court rulings — Nuclear Regulatory Commission v. Texas, Oklahoma v. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and EPA v. Calumet Shreveport Refining — form a jurisprudential watershed in administrative and environmental law, affirming statutory standing and venue provisions as the backbone of coherent judicial review, say attorneys at GableGotwals.

  • Series

    My Opera And Baseball Careers Make Me A Better Lawyer

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    Though participating in opera and the world of professional baseball often pulls me away from the office, my avocations improve my legal career by helping me perform under scrutiny, prioritize team success, and maintain joy and perspective at work, says Adam Unger at Herrick Feinstein.

  • 8 Ways Lawyers Can Protect The Rule Of Law In Their Work

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    Whether they are concerned with judicial independence, regulatory predictability or client confidence, lawyers can take specific meaningful actions on their own when traditional structures are too slow or too compromised to respond, says Angeli Patel at the Berkeley Center of Law and Business.

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