Washington

  • October 16, 2026

    Costco Beats Customers' 100% Agave Tequila Labeling Suit

    A Seattle federal judge on Friday shot down consumers' proposed class action accusing Costco of selling Kirkland Signature tequila falsely labeled as "100% de Agave," deferring to Mexico's purview over tequila regulation and citing a Mexican government body's rejection of similar adulteration claims.

  • October 16, 2026

    Wash. AG Office, WSU Rigged $15M Data Contract, Suit Says

    A former prosecutor and the police-use-of-force analytics company he now helms sued Washington's attorney general's office and Washington State University over an allegedly rigged $15 million public safety data contract, claiming the defendants privately coordinated and shared nonpublic procurement information ahead of a competitive bidding process.

  • October 16, 2026

    Wash. Justices Void Vague Release Term For Sex Offender

    The Washington Supreme Court has reversed a convicted child molester's community custody condition that he not possess or access "sexually exploitive materials" because the term is not clearly defined in state law, and could potentially mean many things.

  • October 16, 2026

    Real Estate Recap: Adaptive Reuse, NYC Affordable Housing

    Catch up on this past week's key developments by state from Law360 Real Estate Authority — including attorney interviews on adaptive reuse as a defense against tariff-induced price spikes and New York's latest effort to fast-track affordable housing.

  • October 16, 2026

    Target Can't Nix Wash. Workers' Unpaid Walking Time Claims

    Target must face proposed class claims that it shortchanged distribution center workers on wages for minutes spent passing through security checkpoints and walking to their departments each shift, a Washington federal judge said Friday, finding the plaintiffs had shown the time qualified as "on duty."

  • October 16, 2026

    Sig Sauer's Trade Secret Claims Shot Down In Contract Fight

    A Washington federal judge has thrown out Sig Sauer's trade secret counterclaims in a lawsuit accusing the firearms company of reneging on a contract to buy products a contractor agreed to make.

  • October 16, 2026

    States Win 1st OK Of $400M Sandoz Generic Price-Fixing Deal

    A Connecticut federal judge granted preliminary approval Friday to a $400 million settlement between a coalition of states, Sandoz Inc. and its subsidiary Fougera Pharmaceuticals Inc. over allegations of generic drug price-fixing and market allocation, setting aside $280 million as restitution.

  • October 16, 2026

    9th Circ. Won't Rethink $2B Devas Arbitral Award Confirmation

    The Ninth Circuit said Friday it will not disturb a unanimous three-judge panel's decision to enforce a $2 billion arbitral award issued to a satellite communications company, rejecting the award debtor's petition for a rehearing by the full court.

  • October 16, 2026

    Aetna Drops Medical Billing Suit Against Acupuncture Clinic

    Aetna, a Washington acupuncture clinic and a retired doctor have agreed to end the insurer's suit claiming it paid more than $800,000 because of fraudulent billing for medical services, according to a federal court filing.

  • October 16, 2026

    Judge Gives Final OK To $360M In RealPage Class Deals

    A Tennessee federal judge has granted final approval for about $360 million worth of class action settlements with renters who accused dozens of corporate landlords of engaging in rent price-fixing by using RealPage Inc.'s rental property revenue management software.

  • October 16, 2026

    Gap Workers In Wash. Sue Over Unpaid OT, Missed Breaks

    Gap and Athleta were hit with a proposed class action in Washington state court alleging that the retail giants failed to pay hourly employees with overtime wages and also failed to ensure that they took the meal and rest breaks they were entitled to.

  • October 15, 2026

    Ex-Microsoft Manager Says Her Bias Complaints Led To Firing

    A former Microsoft Corp. engineering manager sued the tech giant in Washington state court Wednesday over claims the company eliminated her role after she raised concerns about race and gender discrimination against women of color.

  • October 15, 2026

    Google Beats T-Shirt Co.'s Suit, Amazon Still Facing IP Claims

    An Ohio federal judge overseeing a T-shirt seller's separate intellectual property lawsuits accusing Google and Amazon of copyright infringement issued diverging rulings Wednesday, saying Weekend Warrior Clothing can pursue claims against Amazon over its "Merch on Demand" service, while tossing claims that Google advertised infringing shirts.

  • October 15, 2026

    9th Circ. Orders New Murder Trial Over Juror Mental Crisis

    The Ninth Circuit on Thursday vacated a man's convictions for a slaying on the waters off California's coast, saying the trial court should have declared a mistrial after dismissing a juror who experienced a mental health crisis during deliberations.

  • October 15, 2026

    Wash. Justices Doubt Prosecutor Immunity In Judge DQ Case

    Washington Supreme Court justices pushed back Thursday on assertions by a county prosecutor's office that it's immune from claims that it improperly used disqualification affidavits to remove a former judge from its cases, with one justice noting that a line-level prosecutor acknowledged an officewide policy to seek disqualification of the judge.

  • October 15, 2026

    Redfin Hit With Breach Suit Over Hacked Worker, User Data

    A former Redfin Corp. employee filed a proposed nationwide class action against the real estate listings company Wednesday, accusing it of failing to meet "even the most basic requirements of cybersecurity" to protect workers' and customers' personal information from hackers.

  • October 15, 2026

    Cyber Incident Halts Bankruptcy Court Noticing Nationwide

    The nationwide system for providing notice to creditors in bankruptcy cases has been disrupted by a cybersecurity incident, and it is not currently known when the outage will end.

  • October 14, 2026

    State Farm Says Insureds' $7M Fee Bid Ignores Case Losses

    State Farm urged a Seattle federal judge to slash policyholders' bid for attorney fees in two class actions in which the insurer was found liable for shortchanging customers on payouts for totaled vehicles, contending the plaintiffs' nearly $7 million in requested fees should be pared down to $1.9 million.

  • October 14, 2026

    Wash. Pastor Pleads Not Guilty To Alleged $13M Investor Con

    The pastor of a Washington church pled not guilty Tuesday to federal wire fraud and money laundering charges after he allegedly told congregation members they had been chosen by God to back his e-commerce venture and convinced victims to invest $13 million in a sham company.

  • October 14, 2026

    Farmers Insurer Must Face Proposed Class Life Policy Claims

    A Seattle federal judge refused on Tuesday to toss a proposed class action against a Farmers Insurance subsidiary, concluding the plaintiff has leveled valid contractual and consumer protection claims based on contentions that the insurer overcharged for life insurance and underpaid interest on policyholder accounts.  

  • October 14, 2026

    Amazon Workers Allege Unpaid Time At Exit Security Checks

    Amazon.com Services LLC fails to pay its Washington warehouse workers for time spent in mandatory anti-theft security screenings when leaving its facilities, two former employees claimed in a proposed wage class action filed in state court Monday.

  • October 14, 2026

    9th Circ. Blocks Calif. Law Requiring Fed Agents To Show IDs

    A Ninth Circuit panel on Wednesday reversed the implementation of a California law requiring federal agents to display identification, saying the Trump administration is "certain to succeed" on its argument that the state statute violates the U.S. Constitution's supremacy clause.

  • October 14, 2026

    No Jail For Coach Who Testified Against Jordan Card Con Man

    A Manhattan federal judge on Wednesday allowed a Washington state youth sports coach to avoid prison, after he admitted bankrolling a $2 million Michael Jordan trading-card scam and testified against the main perpetrator who recently was arrested in Canada.

  • October 14, 2026

    AGs Say Character.AI Chats Must Be Protected In Ch. 11 Sale

    A group of state attorneys general told a Delaware bankruptcy judge Wednesday that protection of minors and privacy concerns need to be addressed before the company behind artificial intelligence entertainment platform Character.AI is allowed to sell its data in its Chapter 11 case.

  • October 14, 2026

    Paramount, State AGs Chose Certainty Over Merger Trial Risk

    Paramount Skydance closed its $110 billion purchase of Warner Bros. Discovery on Oct. 6, after reaching a settlement with state enforcers that experts say was driven by both politics and the underlying litigation risk for both sides.

Expert Analysis

  • 5 Prediction Market Queries For Every League, Athletic Dept.

    Author Photo

    The NFL's recent amicus brief urging the U.S. Supreme Court to resolve a circuit split over regulating prediction markets and operators like Kalshi raises important, enterprisewide governance questions for leagues, teams and athletic departments, and highlights that regulatory oversight and institutional integrity are related but distinct, say attorneys at Robins Kaplan.

  • Transfer Pricing Analyses May Apply To Tariff Refunds Claims

    Author Photo

    Both plaintiffs and defendants in consumer class actions over tariff refunds should examine transfer pricing analyses, which can offer contemporaneous evidence as to how much of a tariff was borne in the U.S. by the importer or consumers rather than absorbed earlier in the supply chain, say economists at The Brattle Group.

  • How A New Case Redefines The Birthright Citizenship Battle

    Author Photo

    After the U.S. Supreme Court's birthright citizenship ruling last term in Trump v. Barbara, the Trump administration issued a new executive order attempting to limit the categories of individuals eligible for this status — and a pending court challenge to the new order shows where the legal battle lines are being redrawn, say attorneys at Fragomen.

  • What Lawyers Should Know Before Accepting Crypto Payment

    Author Photo

    As clients increasingly request to pay legal fees, retainers and escrow funds using cryptocurrency, lawyers should consider how only a handful of state bar authorities have addressed the issue with varying ethics opinions, as well as the related questions that no authority has yet answered, says attorney Felix Shipkevich.

  • How To Use AI In Employment Contract Drafting

    Excerpt from Practical Guidance
    Author Photo

    Before using artificial intelligence to draft employment contracts, law firms and employers must assess practical ethical guardrails, appropriate use cases, core risk areas and validation workflows, says Samuel Mitchell at Smith Gambrell.

  • Fighting Class Cert. In Wash. False Email Promo Cases

    Author Photo

    Retailers facing a recent wave of class actions alleging their email promotions violated the Washington Commercial Electronic Mail Act may be able to demonstrate that sending individualized, customer-specific messages produced experiences too diverse to be adjudicated on a classwide basis, say attorneys at Benesch.

  • Where The 3 Prediction Market Appellate Rulings Diverge

    Author Photo

    Although the recent Third, Sixth and Ninth Circuit opinions concerning prediction markets overlap on some issues, they differ on key statutory questions, deepening a circuit split over both the classification of sports event contracts and the scope of federal preemption, says Levi Giovanetto at Sheppard.

  • Zillow-Redfin Settlement Spotlights Nontraditional-Deal Risk

    Author Photo

    The Federal Trade Commission's recent settlement with Zillow and Redfin serves as a reminder that authorities are increasingly interested in challenging nontraditional transaction structures that effectively eliminate a market participant, which includes some exclusivity arrangements, say attorneys at Freshfields.

  • Series

    Mentalism Makes Me A Better Lawyer

    Author Photo

    Convincing strangers I can read their minds may seem like an unusual second career for a legal practitioner, but both disciplines share several important requirements, including trust and preparation, says Warren Biro at Manatt.

  • Why And How To Build A Neurodiversity-Informed Practice

    Author Photo

    By better understanding neurodiversity and implementing simple accommodations for clients with autism, ADHD or learning differences, attorneys can build stronger relationships with those who may otherwise struggle to obtain and benefit from legal services, while developing good habits that will benefit everyone they represent, says Ting Cheung at Sanford Heisler.

  • NLRB Memo Signals Narrower View Of Protected Activism

    Author Photo

    A recent National Labor Relations Board memo concluding that Microsoft lawfully discharged two employees who conducted a pro-Palestinian protest on company property indicates that the current NLRB general counsel may take a more restrictive view of when political or social advocacy qualifies as protected activity, say attorneys at Franczek.

  • Testing AI's Promise For Large-Scale Document Review

    Author Photo

    Our document-review comparison of attorneys' responsiveness and issue coding decisions versus predictions generated by artificial intelligence across 1,600 documents suggests that these tools can offer a reasonable and reliable basis for improved discovery workflows, provided lawyers understand where guardrails are needed, say attorneys at Redgrave.

  • What's Next For Prediction Markets If States Win At High Court

    Author Photo

    While the Supreme Court hasn't taken up a prediction market case yet, a high court win for the states in their quest to regulate the exchanges would likely mean a wave of state legislature bills and regulatory guidance arriving on different timelines, rather than a single uniform transition, says Howard Herndon at Bradley Arant.

  • AI Meeting Recaps Pose New Discovery And Privilege Risks

    Author Photo

    The New York City Bar Association’s recent ethics opinion, cautioning attorneys not to record nonclient conversations with artificial intelligence tools, reflects an emerging view that AI meeting recaps are now a distinct business record category, meaning counsel should set meeting-level controls and apply framework-level updates, says William Wright at Faegre Drinker.

  • HPE-Juniper Settlement Teaches Key Tunney Act Lessons

    Author Photo

    A California federal court's recent approval of the U.S. Department of Justice's settlement with Hewlett Packard over its Juniper Networks acquisition offers legal practitioners some crucial lessons, including on unique tech-sector remedies for mergers and acquisitions and the continued viability of the Tunney Act, says Shubha Ghosh at Syracuse University College of Law.

Want to publish in Law360?


Submit an idea

Have a news tip?


Contact us here