Washington

  • June 18, 2026

    Split 9th Circ. Says Feds Must Follow ESA In Water Project

    A federal regulator must comply with the Endangered Species Act as it operates a water management initiative in southern Oregon and northern California, the Ninth Circuit ruled, without adjudicating particular usage rights among irrigators, tribes and others.

  • June 18, 2026

    FTC, Amazon Must Answer Attorney-Client Privilege Questions

    The Washington federal judge handling the Federal Trade Commission's antitrust case against Amazon asked both parties to provide more information about how he should consider attorney-client privilege when reviewing documents to resolve discovery disputes in the case.

  • June 18, 2026

    Costco Seeks Coverage For Chicken Drippings Slip-And-Fall

    A Liberty Mutual unit must defend and indemnify Costco against an underlying suit filed by a California man who said he was injured when he slipped on rotisserie chicken drippings, the bulk retailer said in a suit removed to Washington federal court.

  • June 18, 2026

    DirecTV, AGs Tell 9th Circ. Not To Curb Nexstar-Tegna Block

    DirecTV and a coalition of state attorneys general urged the Ninth Circuit not to narrow a district court preliminary injunction blocking Nexstar's purchase of Tegna, arguing the only way to preserve competition while the case proceeds is a full block, not one restricted to 31 overlapping broadcast markets.

  • June 18, 2026

    Senate Panel Advances Revised College Sports Reform Bill

    The U.S. Senate Commerce Committee approved a bill to codify federal protections for college sports and for athletes' earning abilities, sending it to the full Senate for a possible vote.

  • June 18, 2026

    5 Big ERISA Litigation Developments From 2026's First Half

    The U.S. Supreme Court's acceptance of a petition challenging Intel's 401(k) investment lineup and a Fourth Circuit ruling unraveling a class of Genworth Financial retirement plan participants headlined the court developments that caught benefits attorneys' attention in the first six months of 2026. Here, Law360 looks at those and other noteworthy ERISA decisions.

  • June 18, 2026

    Mother Defends Punitive Claims In Boeing Door Plug Blowout Suit

    A woman and her son suing The Boeing Co. over a door plug blowout on a 737 Max jet flight out of Oregon are urging a Washington federal court to deny Boeing's bid to throw out their punitive damages claims, saying the question is a fact-intensive one unsuitable for dismissal.

  • June 18, 2026

    Amazon Wraps Up Ex-Worker's Race Bias, Retaliation Suit

    Amazon has reached an agreement to end a suit from a former executive assistant who claimed he was fired for complaining that he'd missed out on promotions and faced unwarranted criticism because he's Black, according to a filing in Georgia federal court.

  • June 17, 2026

    GM, Drivers Spar Over Trimmed Transmission Defect Class

    General Motors LLC has asked a Michigan federal judge to shut down a lawsuit alleging it sold vehicles with defective eight-speed automatic transmissions that caused "hard shifts" or made vehicles shake or shudder on the road, while the plaintiffs moved to certify four state-based classes of drivers.

  • June 17, 2026

    Wash. Hydro Workers Sue Feds To Save Collective Bargaining

    United Power Trades Organization, which represents hundreds of hydropower dam workers employed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, launched a lawsuit in Seattle federal court Tuesday seeking to preserve its collective bargaining rights after the Trump administration ended its union contract pursuant to a March 2025 executive order.

  • June 17, 2026

    DoorDash Sued For Kicking Off Seattle Drivers Without Notice

    A former DoorDash driver is accusing the delivery platform of violating a Seattle ordinance by "deactivating" driver accounts without providing proper notice or justification, claiming in a proposed class action that the company abruptly cut off his access to delivery offers despite a sterling service record.

  • June 17, 2026

    Amazon Hit With OT Suit By Ex-Assistant Manager

    Amazon Fresh misclassified salaried assistant store managers as overtime-exempt while assigning them routine store work, according to a proposed collective action filed by a former manager in Washington federal court Wednesday.

  • June 17, 2026

    $8.8M Deal In State Farm 'Diminished Value' Suit Gets 1st OK

    A Washington federal court granted preliminary approval of an $8.8 million settlement to resolve a class action claiming that State Farm failed to adequately pay for the diminished value of vehicles under its underinsured motorist coverage.

  • June 17, 2026

    Walmart Hit With $23M Verdict For Wash. Worker Retaliation

    A Washington federal jury has found Walmart on the hook for retaliating against a former store employee who claimed she was fired for standing up for colleagues who were sexually harassed by another co-worker, awarding the plaintiff $23 million in damages.

  • June 17, 2026

    Google, Apple Call CEO Depo Bids 'Harassment' At 9th Circ.

    Apple and Google urged the Ninth Circuit on Tuesday to reject consumers' request to depose their respective CEOs, Tim Cook and Sundar Pichai, and other executives in antitrust litigation accusing Google of shutting out rival search engines, arguing that the appeal is unwarranted and the repeated deposition demands are unjustified "harassment."

  • June 17, 2026

    Hilton Facing Class Action Over Marketing Calls

    Hilton Grand Vacations is facing a proposed class action in Washington federal court alleging it flooded customers on the National Do Not Call Registry with telemarketing calls.

  • June 17, 2026

    Wash. Panel Says UIM Payment Doesn't Block IFCA Claim

    Washington state appeals court on Tuesday said an insurer cannot shake allegations that it unreasonably initially denied an injured driver's underinsured-motorist claims despite later paying the benefits, with the court noting a lack of instructive case law under the state's Insurance Fair Conduct Act.

  • June 16, 2026

    Chevron's Climate Suit Comparison Meets Skeptical Judge

    A Washington state judge pushed back Tuesday after Chevron and other oil giants urged dismissal of a family's lawsuit over a 2021 heatwave death, saying this case differs from a host of failed climate torts because it focuses on a single fatality from a "very specific weather event."

  • June 16, 2026

    9th Circ. Rejects FCA Bid To Pause Headrest Class Trial

    The Ninth Circuit has rejected outright Fiat Chrysler's bid to pause class action proceedings over supposedly defective Jeep and Dodge headrests during the automaker's preparation of a petition to the U.S. Supreme Court as it pushes for arbitration in the case.

  • June 16, 2026

    Wash. Judge Won't Revisit Order On Ed. Dept. School Grants

    A federal judge in Seattle will not reconsider her decision declining to enforce an earlier order barring the U.S. Department of Education from ceasing school mental health grants, saying Washington and other plaintiff states have not shown that the court erred.

  • June 16, 2026

    Eli Lilly Settles Mounjaro TM Suit Against Seattle Area Clinics

    Eli Lilly has agreed to drop a lawsuit accusing two Washington clinics of ripping off its trademarks for the weight loss drugs Mounjaro and Zepbound, according to a voluntary dismissal motion filed in federal court on Monday, almost two weeks after a judge rejected a resolution proposed by the parties. 

  • June 16, 2026

    WestRock Must Face Class Claims Over Wash. Paper Mill Odor

    A group of Washington and Oregon residents can proceed with a proposed class action accusing paper mill operator WestRock Longview LLC of negligently releasing noxious gases that sickened neighbors and hurt property values, a Washington federal judge ruled Monday.

  • June 16, 2026

    Amazon Says YouTubers' DMCA Suit Rests On 'Guesswork'

    Amazon has urged a Seattle federal court to toss three YouTube creators' proposed Digital Millennium Copyright Act class action that accuses the e-commerce giant of scraping millions of copyright-protected videos to train its generative artificial intelligence model Nova Reel, saying the YouTubers' failure to link it to certain datasets makes their allegations "entirely speculative."

  • June 16, 2026

    Del. Judge Won't Touch Jury's $83M Diagnostics IP Verdict

    A Delaware federal judge on Tuesday upheld a jury's 2023 verdict finding that Guardant Health Inc. should pay TwinStrand Biosciences Inc. $83.4 million for willfully infringing diagnostic patents, refusing to overturn or enhance the award.

  • June 16, 2026

    AGs Face Opposition To RealPage Intervention Bid

    Renters and building owners in multidistrict litigation alleging landlords used RealPage's software to inflate rental rates have told a Tennessee federal court the deals they reached cover any damages that attorneys general for four states and the District of Columbia might seek on behalf of their citizens.

Expert Analysis

  • What A Court Doc Audit Reveals About Erroneous Filings

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    My audit of 1,522 court documents from last month found that over 95% contained at least one verifiable error, with fewer than 1% showing clear indicators of artificial intelligence use — highlighting above all else that lawyers may want to focus most on strengthening their review processes, says Elliott Ash at ETH Zurich.

  • Pension Case Offers Entertainment Work Exception Insights

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    A recent Ninth Circuit decision clarified that any amount of entertainment work can satisfy the entertainment industry exception under the Multiemployer Pension Plan Amendments Act, reinforcing that statutory language, rather than evolving business models, dictates withdrawal liability outcomes, say attorneys at Seyfarth.

  • Justices' Ruling Stresses Quick Action Against Absconders

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    Following the U.S. Supreme Court's recent holding in Rico v. U.S. that a supervised release term is not automatically extended when a defendant absconds, probation officers and prosecutors risk being unable to address later violations if they don't act promptly to secure warrants, say attorneys at Winston & Strawn.

  • How Cos. Can Navigate The Patchwork Of AI Safety Bills

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    In the first few months of 2026, state and federal lawmakers introduced hundreds of bills to address the perceived safety risks of artificial intelligence, so companies should assess whether existing or planned services could be scoped into AI safety legislation across jurisdictions, say attorneys at Hogan Lovells.

  • Series

    Ultramarathons Make Me A Better Lawyer

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    Completing a 100-mile ultramarathon was tougher, more humbling and more rewarding than I ever imagined, and the experience highlighted how long-distance running has sharpened my ability to adapt to the evolving nature of antitrust law and strengthened my resolve to handle demanding, unforeseen challenges, says Dan Oakes at Axinn.

  • 6th Circ. Can Extend Insurance Valuation Clarity Beyond Auto

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    In rehearing Clippinger v. State Farm, the Sixth Circuit can align itself with the recent drumbeat of other circuits rejecting class certification of auto total loss claims and set standards that apply to similar claims brought under homeowners and other types of insurance policies, say attorneys at Jackson Walker.

  • 9th Circ. Ruling Clarifies Doc Protection Limits In Gov't Probes

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    The Ninth Circuit's recent decision in Kalbers v. U.S. Department of Justice confirms that Rule 6(e) provides robust protections when documents are in the government's possession only through a grand jury subpoena, emphasizing for companies the importance of careful labeling from the outset of an investigation, say attorneys at Cooley.

  • Spotlight On Legal Battles Over EEOC Subpoena Powers

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    Attorneys at Wilson Elser consider the spate of litigation over the past year, spurred by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s focus on alleged religious discrimination at universities, and corporate diversity, equity and inclusion practices, and how it may affect the attempts to assert privacy rights against the agency's broad subpoena powers.

  • Verdicts Signal Product Liability's Expansion To Digital Realm

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    Last week's landmark verdict in K.G.M. v. Meta Platforms Inc., along with other recent verdicts that apply product liability theories to online services that rely on algorithmic design and user engagement features, make it clear that companies must evaluate digital product design through a litigation lens, say attorneys at Arnold & Porter.

  • Getting The Most Out Of Learning And Development Programs

    Excerpt from Practical Guidance
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    Junior associates can better develop the legal, business and interpersonal skills they need for long-term success by approaching their firms’ learning and development programs armed with five tips for getting the most out of these resources, says Lauren Hakala at Reed Smith.

  • Opinion

    AI Presents A Make-Or-Break Moment For Outside Counsel

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    The rapid adoption of artificial intelligence by corporate legal departments is forcing a long-overdue reset of the relationship between inside and outside counsel, and introducing a significant opportunity to shed frustrating inefficiencies and strengthen collaboration for firms willing to embrace the shift, says Intel Chief Legal Officer April Miller Boise.

  • State Carbon Cost Disparities Are Pivotal In Data Center Siting

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    When choosing U.S. data center locations, developers must carefully consider the patchwork of state and regional carbon emission pricing regimes that are layered on top of the federal permitting framework, creating compliance cost differentials that could add up to billions of dollars, say attorneys at Davis Graham.

  • Series

    Watching Hallmark Movies Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    I realize you may be judging me for watching, and actually enjoying, Hallmark Channel movies, but the escapism and storylines actually demonstrate qualities and actions that lead to an efficient, productive and positive legal practice, says Karen Ross at Tucker Ellis.

  • Keys To Federal Carbon Compliance In Data Center Siting

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    Recent statements from the White House and state governors about making data centers pay for their own power infrastructure have underlined the importance of choosing locations, generation technologies and deal structures to optimize carbon, permitting and compliance costs, say attorneys at Davis Graham.

  • Employment Cases Offer Arbitration Clause Drafting Lessons

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    Two recent federal court decisions granting employers' motions to compel arbitration highlight that companies can improve their chances of avoiding court by approaching arbitration clauses as a series of related drafting choices, anticipating disputes on the arbitral seat, hearing location and governing law, say attorneys at Krevolin Horst.

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