Washington

  • January 06, 2026

    Tyson Foods Tries To Pare Down Meat Packer's Wage Claims

    Tyson Foods Inc. is asking a Washington federal judge to throw out the bulk of a proposed wage and hour class action, arguing that the plaintiff's amended complaint is too short on details to proceed.

  • January 06, 2026

    Amazon Seeks To 'Hot Tub' MIT Prof's Opinion In Antitrust Suit

    Amazon.com Inc. has asked a Seattle federal court for a "hot tub" hearing in a proposed consumer antitrust class action that accuses the e-commerce giant of artificially raising retail prices, saying the novel litigation technique for concurrently questioning parties' experts is needed to vet one expert's change in opinion.

  • January 06, 2026

    Wash. Atty Impaled By Debris In National Park Can Sue Feds

    A Washington federal judge declined to toss an attorney's lawsuit against the federal government alleging he was impaled by wooden debris in Lake Chelan after jumping from a dock at a National Park Service campground, but said the court needs more information to be sure the case satisfies jurisdictional requirements.

  • January 06, 2026

    Cider-Maker Challenges Federal Ban On Vintage Labeling

    A Washington state maker of alcoholic beverages is challenging a federal government restriction that prevents producers of cider, mead and wines made from any fruit besides grapes from including vintage years on their product labels, arguing that the policy withholds information from consumers and violates the First Amendment.

  • January 06, 2026

    1st Circ. Questions Feds' Mootness Claim In NIH Grant Suits

    The First Circuit appeared to push back Tuesday on assertions by the government that new guidance for terminating medical research grants over supposed links to issues like DEI, gender identity and vaccines — along with a partial settlement last week — moot a pair of lawsuits challenging the directives.

  • January 06, 2026

    Insurer Must Defend Grocery Store Shooting Suit, Man Says

    A Washington man who was criminally charged and convicted in connection with a shooting at a grocery store said his home insurer must defend him in a related civil suit, telling a federal court that his self-defense claim during the criminal trial brings his conduct within coverage.

  • January 06, 2026

    Visa Suit Tossed After DHS Restored Students' Status

    A Washington federal judge agreed Tuesday to dismiss a lawsuit a student brought against the U.S. Department of Homeland Security after it reinstated his visa status, finding the action is moot because the government indicated it has no plans to re-terminate visas based on criminal database searches.

  • January 06, 2026

    9th Circ. Says Christian Ministry Can Reject Gay Applicants

    The Ninth Circuit ruled Tuesday that a Christian ministry is constitutionally clear to refuse employment to people based on their sexual orientation, explaining that the First Amendment allows religious ministries to prefer candidates who share their beliefs about marriage and sexuality.

  • January 06, 2026

    Crypto Miner Host Can't Get $1.2M Damages Order Reversed

    A Seattle federal judge won't reconsider a decision awarding $1.2 million to a bitcoin miner in its breach of contract dispute with the operator of a facility that hosted its machines, finding the host company rehashed old arguments in its reconsideration bid.

  • January 06, 2026

    'Jersey Boys' Producer Slips $1M Pension Tab At 9th Circ.

    The Ninth Circuit on Tuesday reversed a win for a stagehands union pension plan in a dispute with a producer for the jukebox musical "Jersey Boys," saying an entertainment industry exemption to federal benefits law shielded the production company from approximately $1 million in withdrawal liability. 

  • January 06, 2026

    Live Nation Settles Workers' Claims Of Excessive 401(k) Fees

    Live Nation has agreed to a settlement of a proposed class action from former employees who alleged their 401(k) plan was saddled with excessive fees, after a California federal judge said in December he would reconsider his earlier decision requiring arbitration of some claims in the dispute. 

  • January 06, 2026

    Arnold & Porter Adds Amazon, K&L Gates Duo On West Coast

    Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLP has grown its real estate offerings on the West Coast with the addition of an in-house lawyer from Amazon and a K&L Gates LLP attorney.

  • January 05, 2026

    1st Circ. Upholds Block On Trump Admin NIH Funding Cuts

    The First Circuit on Monday affirmed a Massachusetts federal judge's order permanently blocking the Trump administration from gutting National Institutes of Health funding for biomedical research, agreeing that the government didn't have the authority to cap indirect costs for research grants.

  • January 05, 2026

    Amazon Plaintiff Says 'Buy Movie' Button Fools Shoppers

    A California woman accusing Amazon of lying to consumers about whether they own movies purchased on its Prime Video platform said the e-commerce giant can't avoid the proposed class action by hiding behind fine print, arguing shoppers who bought media weren't sufficiently informed they could lose access at any time.

  • January 05, 2026

    Amazon Can't Beat Pandemic-Era Price-Gouging Suit In Wash.

    A Washington federal judge refused to throw out consumers' proposed class action against Amazon over alleged pandemic-era price-gouging, rejecting on Monday the e-commerce company's argument that the Washington Supreme Court interpreted consumer protection law too broadly when wading into the case.

  • January 05, 2026

    ​'Truly Extreme': 9th Circ. Judges Decry Trump Layoffs Ruling

    The Ninth Circuit on Monday refused to revisit a three-judge panel's decision rejecting the Trump administration's challenge of a lower court's ruling requiring production of its plans for large-scale layoffs and reorganizations at various federal agencies, a decision that was met with fiery dissent from several of the court's Republican-appointed judges.

  • January 05, 2026

    9th Circ. Creates Split On Dormant Commerce And Cannabis

    The Ninth Circuit's decision Friday finding that a constitutional doctrine barring states from enacting protectionist policies does not apply to federally illegal retail marijuana sets up an apparent circuit split and may bring the matter closer to U.S. Supreme Court review.

  • January 05, 2026

    Amazon Sued Over Burns From Erupting Instant Pot

    Amazon and a Chinese manufacturer face a personal injury lawsuit from two New York residents who claim they suffered severe, disfiguring burns when an Instant Pot pressure cooker that was purchased through Amazon malfunctioned and spewed hot soup onto them.

  • January 05, 2026

    Starr, Collection Co. Reach Deal Over $4.4M Bad Faith Dispute

    Starr Indemnity & Liability Co. struck a deal resolving a collections company's bid for $4.4 million in bad faith damages over underlying litigation concerning a real estate development in Washington state.

  • January 05, 2026

    Live Nation Says It's Not On Hook For EDM Festival Deaths

    Live Nation wants a pretrial win in a lawsuit brought by the families of two people killed at the Beyond Wonderland music festival in Washington in 2023, contending the company cannot be liable for the "random, unprovoked mass shooting" by a concertgoer who became psychotic while high on hallucinogenic mushrooms.

  • January 05, 2026

    Bank Fights Sanctions Bid In Jail Debit Card Fee Suit

    Central Bank of Kansas City said it should not face sanctions for failing to produce certain documents in a suit brought by a group of formerly incarcerated people accusing it of charging excessive fees on prepaid debit cards, arguing the suit should take direct action against the bank's contractors instead.

  • January 05, 2026

    More Discovery Needed In Bitcoin Miner Spat, Energy Biz Says

    A U.S. energy company has told a federal judge in Seattle that further discovery is required to determine whether a Canadian cryptocurrency firm adequately complied with the requirements of a termination agreement before the court can entertain a motion for summary judgment.

  • January 05, 2026

    Crypto Miner Host Seeks Reversal Of $1.2M Damages Award

    A cryptocurrency mining facility operator has asked a Seattle federal judge to revisit a decision to award $1.2 million to a bitcoin miner in a breach of contract dispute, saying the damages sum is based on an "unreliable" expert report that erroneously valued the digital asset at nearly twice its trading price during the relevant period.

  • January 02, 2026

    9th Circ. Says Dormant Commerce Clause Doesn't Cover Pot

    A Ninth Circuit panel Friday rejected arguments by a would-be cannabis retail operator that said state and local residency requirements on marijuana business licenses are unconstitutional, ruling that the U.S. Constitution's dormant commerce clause doesn't apply to the cannabis industry because it's still illegal under federal law.

  • January 02, 2026

    Starbucks Beats Investors' Labor Relations Suit On Appeal

    A Washington state appeals court has sided with Starbucks and its corporate leadership in two shareholders' proposed class action claiming union-busting activity hurt the coffee giant's reputation, concluding the district court should throw out the case because the investors failed to show intentional wrongdoing by company directors.

Expert Analysis

  • Series

    The Biz Court Digest: How It Works In Massachusetts

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    Since its founding in 2000, the Massachusetts Business Litigation Session's expertise, procedural flexibility and litigant-friendly case management practices have contributed to the development of a robust body of commercial jurisprudence, say James Donnelly at Mirick O’Connell, Felicia Ellsworth at WilmerHale and Lisa Wood at Foley Hoag.

  • Viral 'Brewers Karen' Incident Teaches Employers To Act Fast

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    An attorney who was terminated after a viral video showed her threatening to call U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on an opposing team's fan at a Milwaukee Brewers game underscores why employers must take prompt action when learning of viral incidents involving employees, says Joseph Myers at Mesidor.

  • Why Appellees Should Write Their Answering Brief First

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    Though counterintuitive, appellees should consider writing their answering briefs before they’ve ever seen their opponent’s opening brief, as this practice confers numerous benefits related to argument structure, time pressures and workflow, says Joshua Sohn at the U.S. Department of Justice.

  • Notable Q3 Updates In Insurance Class Actions

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    The third quarter of 2025 was another eventful quarter for total loss valuation class actions, with a new circuit split developing courtesy of the Sixth Circuit, while insurers continued to see negative results in cost-of-insurance class actions, says Kevin Zimmerman at BakerHostetler.

  • Series

    Mindfulness Meditation Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Mindful meditation enables me to drop the ego, and in helping me to keep sight of what’s important, permits me to learn from the other side and become a reliable counselor, says Roy Wyman at Bass Berry.

  • AI Litigation Tools Can Enhance Case Assessment, Strategy

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    Civil litigators can use artificial intelligence tools to strengthen case assessment and aid in early strategy development, as long as they address the risks and ethical considerations that accompany these uses, say attorneys at Barnes & Thornburg.

  • Attys Beware: Generative AI Can Also Hallucinate Metadata

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    In addition to the well-known problem of AI-generated hallucinations in legal documents, AI tools can also hallucinate metadata — threatening the integrity of discovery, the reliability of evidence and the ability to definitively identify the provenance of electronic documents, say attorneys at Law & Forensics.

  • How 9th Circ. Ruling Deepens SEC Disgorgement Circuit Split

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    The Ninth Circuit's recent decision in U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission v. Sripetch creates opposing disgorgement rules in the two circuits where the SEC brings a large proportion of enforcement actions — the Second and Ninth — and increases the likelihood that the U.S. Supreme Court will step in, say attorneys at Cahill Gordon.

  • When Atty Ethics Violations Give Rise To Causes Of Action

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    Though the Model Rules of Professional Conduct make clear that a violation of the rules does not automatically create a cause of action, attorneys should beware of a few scenarios in which they could face lawsuits for ethical lapses, says Brian Faughnan at Faughnan Law.

  • Justices' LabCorp Punt Leaves Deeper Class Cert. Circuit Split

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    In its ruling in LabCorp v. Davis, the U.S. Supreme Court left unresolved a standing-related class certification issue that has plagued class action jurisprudence for years — and subsequent conflicting decisions among federal circuit courts have left district courts and litigants struggling with conflicting and uncertain standards, say attorneys at Cozen O'Connor.

  • Lessons From Del. Chancery Court's New Activision Decision

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    The Delaware Court of Chancery's recent decision in AP-Fonden v. Activision Blizzard, declining to dismiss certain fiduciary duty claims at the pleading stage, offers takeaways for boards considering a sale, including the importance of playing an active role in the merger process and documenting key board materials, say attorneys at Cleary.

  • Opinion

    Courts Must Continue Protecting Plaintiffs In Mass Arbitration

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    In recent years, many companies have imposed onerous protocols that function to frustrate plaintiffs' ability to seek justice through mass arbitration, but a series of welcome court decisions in recent months indicate that the pendulum might be swinging back toward plaintiffs, say Raphael Janove and Sasha Jones at Janove Law.

  • Series

    Practicing Stoicism Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Practicing Stoicism, by applying reason to ignore my emotions and govern my decisions, has enabled me to approach challenging situations in a structured way, ultimately providing advice singularly devoted to a client's interest, says John Baranello at Moses & Singer.

  • Series

    The Biz Court Digest: Texas, One Year In

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    A year after the Texas Business Court's first decision, it's clear that Texas didn't just copy Delaware and instead built something uniquely its own, combining specialization with constitutional accountability and creating a model that looks forward without losing touch with the state's democratic and statutory roots, says Chris Bankler at Jackson Walker.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Educating Your Community

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    Nearly two decades prosecuting scammers and elder fraud taught me that proactively educating the public about the risks they face and the rights they possess is essential to building trust within our communities, empowering otherwise vulnerable citizens and preventing wrongdoers from gaining a foothold, says Roger Handberg at GrayRobinson.

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