Washington

  • May 28, 2026

    Feds Say Canadian Co.'s Auto Devices Violate Emissions Law

    The federal government has accused a Canadian automotive accessory retailer in Washington federal court of selling certain aftermarket products designed to boost vehicle performance by bypassing existing vehicle systems meant to ensure a vehicle satisfies federal emissions standards.

  • May 28, 2026

    9th Circ. Won't Revisit FCA Ruling Over Drug Price Program

    The Ninth Circuit has said it will not disturb its March ruling allowing a hospital chain to pursue a False Claims Act lawsuit against various pharmaceutical companies for allegedly causing the government to overpay for drugs under a discount program.

  • May 27, 2026

    Feds Challenge State Policies Denying DHS Undercover Plates

    The Trump administration took aim Wednesday at what it described as unconstitutional policies in four states that allegedly deny undercover vehicle license plates to U.S. Department of Homeland Security officials while still granting them to state and local agencies.

  • May 27, 2026

    Valve Can't Press Pause On Steam Gamers' Arbitrations

    A federal judge in Seattle declined Wednesday to block hundreds of video game buyers from arbitrating consumer protection claims against Valve Corp., saying the "multibillion-dollar platform" is relying on a contractual provision that's likely unenforceable because it's "one-sided and overly harsh."

  • May 27, 2026

    Immigration Atty Forfeits Wash. License Amid Malpractice Suit

    An immigration attorney has resigned from the Washington State Bar Association rather than face disciplinary proceedings, just weeks after a group of ex-clients launched a legal malpractice lawsuit accusing her of botching their cases and abusing visa programs reserved for domestic violence and human trafficking victims.

  • May 27, 2026

    9th Circ. Says Alaska Can Release ConocoPhillips Well Data

    The Ninth Circuit on Wednesday reversed a lower court's ruling that kept ConocoPhillips' Alaskan well data confidential, saying in a published opinion that federal law and regulations did not preempt an Alaska statute requiring the data's release.

  • May 27, 2026

    NY Firms Lose Lead Role In Starbucks Shareholder Suit

    A Washington federal judge struck an earlier order granting co-lead roles to two New York law firms in a consolidated shareholder action against Starbucks Corp., handing a win Wednesday to two plaintiffs who'd challenged the appointment and said their own counsel would be better suited for the job.

  • May 27, 2026

    3 Generic Drug Antitrust Deals Totaling $17.9M Get Final Nod

    A Connecticut federal judge on Wednesday gave final approval to a $17.9 million generic drug price-fixing settlement between pharmaceutical companies Bausch Health US LLC, Bausch Health Americas Inc., and Lannett Co. Inc. and 48 states, territories, and governments, finding the terms reasonable despite an objection.

  • May 27, 2026

    Perkins Coie Docs At Issue In Omani Co.'s Malpractice Case

    An Oman-based screw and nail manufacturer has urged a Washington state judge to force Perkins Coie LLP to hand over a trove of documents related to the firm's past work representing the Middle Eastern company in a U.S. Department of Commerce probe, saying more information is needed to assess the law firm's defenses against claims its mistakes cost the company hundreds of millions of dollars.

  • May 27, 2026

    Shuttered USDA Program Grantees Join Suit To Restore $125M

    Several organizations have joined the legal fight to restore $127 million in U.S. Department of Agriculture grants aimed at fighting climate change through diverse farm ownership, arguing that the agency's termination of the funding was arbitrary and capricious.

  • May 27, 2026

    Pot Co. Urges 9th Circ. To Weigh Labor Law Constitutionality

    A cannabis retailer challenging the constitutionality of a California law that requires marijuana businesses to have labor peace agreements with unions is urging the Ninth Circuit to consider its claims against the state on the merits rather than remanding the issue to a lower court.

  • May 27, 2026

    Live Nation Wants AGs' Discovery To Wait On New Trial Bid

    Live Nation has told a New York federal judge that its bids for a new trial or judgment in its favor should go before state attorneys general to get discovery as they seek the forced divestiture of Ticketmaster to address the live music giant's monopoly.

  • May 27, 2026

    Class Wants OK On $8.8M State Farm 'Diminished Value' Deal

    More than 15,000 motorists asked a Washington federal judge Tuesday to give the initial approval to an $8.8 million deal to resolve a proposed class action alleging State Farm failed to adequately pay for the diminished value of vehicles under its underinsured and uninsured motorists coverage.

  • May 27, 2026

    Seyfarth Adds Davis Wright Duo To Seattle Wage-Hour Team

    Seyfarth Shaw LLP announced on Tuesday that it has brought on a pair of labor and employment attorneys from Davis Wright Tremaine LLP to its Seattle office, citing the growth of wage-and-hour litigation in Washington.

  • May 27, 2026

    Wash. Says GEO Can't Evade Inspections Via ICE Contract

    Washington state officials asked a federal judge to allow it access to a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility to inspect its conditions, arguing private prison operator GEO Group is not immune from local public health and safety laws.

  • May 27, 2026

    Wash. Judge Says DHS Can't End State Migrant Shelter Grant

    A Washington federal court has revived the state's ability to receive reimbursements under a federal program that helps cover states' provision of sheltering services to noncitizens, finding that the Trump administration ran afoul of Congress' express funding priorities.

  • May 26, 2026

    9th Circ. Won't Revive Wash. City Workers' Vax Mandate Suit

    A Ninth Circuit panel Tuesday put an end to city workers' lawsuit challenging Bellingham, Washington's COVID-19 vaccine mandate, ruling that a lower court appropriately dismissed the action and barred the workers from amending their claims.

  • May 26, 2026

    Seattle Hospital Loses Appeal Of Dr.'s $21M Race Bias Verdict

    A Washington Court of Appeals panel Tuesday upheld a $21 million verdict against Seattle Children's Hospital in a Black ex-medical director's lawsuit claiming he faced racism in the workplace and retaliation for complaining about systemic inequities, ruling "substantial evidence" justified the jury's findings and damages award.

  • May 26, 2026

    Air Force Urges Justices To Unravel Guam Munitions Ruling

    The U.S. Air Force has told the U.S. Supreme Court that the Ninth Circuit erred in holding that the military branch was required to comply with the National Environmental Policy Act before seeking to renew a permit to dispose of hazardous waste at Tarague Beach on Guam. 

  • May 26, 2026

    Microsoft Says Teams Info Not 'Voiceprint' Under BIPA

    Microsoft has urged a Washington federal judge to throw out a proposed class action from Illinois residents who claim the company's Teams software wrongfully creates biometric "voiceprints" of meeting participants, arguing that its "routine transcription functions" don't count as voiceprints because they're not personally identifying.

  • May 26, 2026

    Amazon Shopper's Late Delivery Suit Flops At 9th Circ.

    A Ninth Circuit panel refused on Tuesday to reinstate a proposed class action accusing Amazon of failing to live up to scheduled delivery promises, echoing a lower court's conclusion that the e-commerce giant's terms and conditions don't entitle customers to automatic shipping fee refunds for late arrivals.  

  • May 26, 2026

    MoneyLion Seeks To Shed Wash. Suit Over Referral Texts

    Fintech platform MoneyLion is looking to escape proposed class claims that it has violated Washington state laws with its customer referral program, arguing the allegations fail to show that the company helped users send referral messages to nonconsenting third parties.

  • May 26, 2026

    Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court

    The Delaware Chancery Court this past week handled a broad mix of cross-border corporate control disputes, merger settlements, startup equity fights, advancement claims and board oversight litigation, while also weighing fallout from high-profile deals involving Microsoft Corp., The Boeing Co. and Nikola Corp.

  • May 26, 2026

    Wash. Tribal Site Secrecy Cuts Against Injunction, Court Told

    A Washington telephone company says a bid by the Lummi Nation to seal information containing the locations of sensitive archaeological sites undermines the tribe's claims that a preliminary injunction is necessary since maintaining the confidentiality of those locations mitigates the alleged risk of potential looting.

  • May 26, 2026

    Kroger Unit Pressured Workers To Forgo Breaks, Suit Says

    Grocery chain Fred Meyer Stores Inc. and its parent company, Kroger, failed to pay workers minimum and overtime wages, denied them meal and rest breaks and manipulated their time records to systematically underpay them, according to a proposed class action removed to Washington federal court.

Expert Analysis

  • Assessing The 9th Circ.'s Recent Stock Drop Dismissal Trend

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    The recent decision in Nova Scotia Health Employees' Pension Plan v. Comerica is an important circuit-level addition to the growing trend of Ninth Circuit securities class action dismissals on loss causation grounds, which have used a contextual analysis premised on stock drops that are modest, typical and short-lived, say attorneys at Paul Weiss.

  • Series

    Playing Magic: The Gathering Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    The competitive card game Magic: The Gathering offers me a training ground for the strategic thinking skills crucial to litigation, challenging me to adapt to oft-updated rules, analyze text as complicated as any statute and anticipate my opponent’s next moves, says Christopher Smith at Lash Goldberg.

  • Improving Well-Being In Law, 10 Years After Landmark Study

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    An important 2016 study revealed significant substance abuse and mental health issues among lawyers, and while the findings helped normalize the conversation around these topics, a decade later, structural change is still needed, says Denise Robinson at PLI.

  • How The Coming Months Will Shape State Drug Price Boards

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    The future of state prescription drug affordability boards may be determined in the next few months, between an upcoming court decision in a challenge against state authority to set drug prices, and pending state decisions about whether to use federal Medicare maximum fair prices as reference, say Michael Kolber, Steven Chen and Kelechi Ezealaji at Manatt.

  • Why Justices Seem Skeptical Of Curbing SEC Disgorgement

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    Sripetch v. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission presents an opportunity for the U.S. Supreme Court to clarify the disgorgement limits it set six years ago in Liu v. SEC, with recent oral arguments suggesting the court sees disgorgement as an equitable remedy akin to unjust enrichment, say attorneys at Hueston Hennigan.

  • Series

    Officiating Football Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Though they may seem to have little in common, officiating football has sharpened many of the same skills that define effective lawyering in management-side labor and employment: preparation, judgment, composure, credibility and ability to make difficult decisions in real time, says Josh Nadreau at Fisher Phillips.

  • Fresenius Ruling May Shift Anti-Kickback Enforcement

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    The Ninth Circuit's recent decision in Fresenius v. Bonta suggests that businesses have a First Amendment right to donate to certain charities, even if those donations are motivated by economic self-interest, potentially calling into question years of Anti-Kickback Statute proceedings against pharmaceutical manufacturers for making similar donations, says Jonah Knobler at Patterson Belknap.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: How To Draft Pleadings

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    Most law school graduates step into their first jobs without ever having drafted a complaint, answer, motion or other type of pleading, but that gap can be closed by understanding the strategy embedded in every filing, writing with clarity and purpose, and seeking feedback at every step, says Eric Yakaitis at Haug Barron.

  • What Employers Should Know About Wash. Noncompete Ban

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    Washington state recently passed one of the most expansive prohibitions on noncompetes in the country, marking a significant shift in the state's approach to restrictive covenants and requiring employers to carefully assess how this change will affect their current and future agreements, say attorneys at Cozen.

  • E-Discovery Quarterly: Recent Rulings On ESI Control

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    Several recent federal court decisions have perpetuated a split over what constitutes “control” of electronically stored information — with judges divided on whether the standard should turn on a party's legal right or practical ability to obtain the information, say attorneys at Sidley.

  • 2 Discovery Rulings Break With Heppner On AI Privilege Issue

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    While a New York federal court’s recent ruling in U.S. v. Heppner suggests that some litigants’ communications with AI tools are discoverable, two other recent federal court decisions demonstrate that such interactions generally qualify for work-product protection under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, says Joshua Dunn at Brown Rudnick.

  • Series

    Isshin-Ryu Karate Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    My involvement in martial arts, specifically Isshin-ryu, which has principles rooted in the eight codes of karate, has been one of the most foundational in the development of my personality, and particularly my approach to challenges — including in my practice of law, says Kaitlyn Stone at Barnes & Thornburg.

  • CFTC Chair's Speech Hints At Innovation-Friendly Policies

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    Remarks made by Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chair Michael Selig at the Futures Industry Association's conference last month provided the most comprehensive articulation of his regulatory agenda and signaled a shift in the CFTC's regulatory posture, including a rare focus on agency coordination and support for digital asset innovation, say attorneys at Willkie.

  • 'Made In America' EO May Not Survive Section 230

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    President Donald Trump's recent executive order to combat fraudulent "Made in America" claims in advertising directs the Federal Trade Commission to deem online marketplaces' failure to verify third-party origin claims as unlawful, but such a rule would likely run into Section 230's publisher immunity doctrine, say attorneys at Blank Rome.

  • CFTC Actions Show Prediction Market Insider Trading Risks

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    It is a myth that insider trading law does not apply in prediction markets, as the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission's recent enforcement actions illustrate that it has full authority to pursue such cases federally — and intends to, says attorney Gregg Goldfarb.

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