Washington

  • June 18, 2026

    Starbucks Hit With Claims Of Forced Labor In Brazil Again

    Starbucks knowingly profits from an "entrenched system" of human trafficking, child labor and slaverylike working conditions among coffee suppliers in Brazil, alleges eight workers' proposed class action filed Thursday in Washington federal court.

  • June 18, 2026

    Meta Can't Undo $35M Political Ad Penalty, Wash. Justices Say

    Most of the Washington State Supreme Court justices rejected Meta's First Amendment challenge to a state political advertising disclosure law in a divided opinion, while also spurning the social media giant's argument that a $35 million penalty against it violates the Constitution's prohibition on excessive fines.

  • June 18, 2026

    Fed. Circ. Again Revives Valve Bid To Ax Patent In $4M Verdict

    The Federal Circuit on Thursday gave Valve Corp. yet another chance to try to invalidate rival SCUF's video game controller patent underlying a $4 million verdict, ruling that, after the appeals court revived the effort, the trial judge wrongly said Valve's arguments are barred by a prior challenge.

  • 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.

Expert Analysis

  • Series

    Isshin-Ryu Karate Makes Me A Better Lawyer

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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.

  • Prepping For White House's Proposed AI Framework

    Author Photo

    The artificial intelligence legislative framework issued by the White House last month reframes the policy landscape, creating a number of near-term developments for companies to track as congressional committees attempt to convert the framework into legislative text, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • Opinion

    Apple Discovery Fight Could Revive DOJ's Antitrust Appetite

    Author Photo

    Winning discovery disputes in the ongoing federal antitrust litigation over Apple’s app store practices is a huge opportunity for the Justice Department to return to its once-vigorous pursuit of product tying by tech monopolies, catch up with foreign competition regulators and establish clear standards for digital markets, says Ediberto Roman at Florida International University.

  • Opinion

    State Bars Need To Get Specific About AI Confidentiality

    Author Photo

    Lawyers need to put actual client information into artificial intelligence tools to get their full value, but they cannot confidently do so until state bars offer clear, formal authority on which plan tiers of the three most popular generative AI tools are safe to use when sharing specific client details, says attorney Nick Berk.

  • What Justices' Review Of Guam Case Will Mean For Permitting

    Author Photo

    In U.S. Department of the Air Force v. Prutehi Guahan, the U.S. Supreme Court will address whether a federal agency's permit application is a final decision that courts can review — a question whose answer could reshape the timing and strategy of environmental litigation across the federal permitting landscape, say attorneys at Foley Hoag.

  • Opinion

    Judicial Restraint Anchors Constitutional Order

    Author Photo

    Contrasting opinions in two recent U.S. Supreme Court rulings — Trump v. CASA and Bost v. Illinois State Board of Elections — demonstrate how the judiciary’s constitutionally entrusted role can easily be preserved or disrupted, and invite renewed attention to the enduring importance of judicial restraint, says Ninth Circuit Judge J. Clifford Wallace.

  • Series

    Alpine Skiing Makes Me A Better Lawyer

    Author Photo

    Skiing has shaped habits I rely on daily as an attorney — focus, resilience and the ability to remain steady when circumstances shift rapidly — and influences the way I approach legal strategy, client counseling and teamwork, says Isaku Begert at Marshall Gerstein.

  • Telehealth Suit May Redraw Rules For Physician Classification

    Author Photo

    A new class action in California federal court, Cioppettini v. Mochi Medical, alleging a telehealth company misclassified providers as independent contractors, suggests that traditional markers of physician independence may not apply to telehealth, say attorneys at Reed Smith.

  • Opinion

    Wash. Amazon Ruling Should Reshape Suicide Liability

    Author Photo

    The Washington Supreme Court's reinstatement of negligence claims in Scott v. Amazon.com, brought by the families of people who died by suicide after purchasing chemicals online, signals a reckoning for digital commerce and the rejection of the defense that online marketplaces are merely passive technology platforms, says Donald Fountain at Clark Fountain.

  • Pivotal 6th Circ. Ruling Threatens Decades Of NLRB Decisions

    Author Photo

    The Sixth Circuit's recent decision in Brown-Forman v. National Labor Relations Board fundamentally challenged the NLRB's long-standing practice of establishing policies through adjudication rather than formal rulemaking, giving employers and unions a new avenue to procedurally attack the vast majority of its rules, say attorneys at Faegre Drinker.

  • What A Court Doc Audit Reveals About Erroneous Filings

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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.

Want to publish in Law360?


Submit an idea

Have a news tip?


Contact us here
Can't find the article you're looking for? Click here to search the Washington archive.