Washington

  • November 24, 2025

    21 States Get Judge To Halt Trump Cuts Of 4 Fed. Agencies

    A Rhode Island federal judge has blocked the Trump administration from eliminating four federal agencies that support museums and libraries, minority businesses, organized labor, and homeless services, handing a win to a coalition of 21 states that challenged the legality of the cuts.

  • November 24, 2025

    Amazon, Gillette Claim Oral-B Toothbrush Heads Were Fakes

    Amazon and Gillette on Monday sued dozens of "bad actors" that the companies claim sold counterfeit Oral-B toothbrush heads on the e-commerce platform, misleading shoppers, lying to Amazon and infringing Gillette's trademarks.

  • November 24, 2025

    Wash. Gov. Ferguson Taps Civil Rights Chief For Top Court

    Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson has tapped a leading civil rights litigator from the attorney general's office to replace retiring Washington State Supreme Court Justice Mary I. Yu when she steps down at the end of the year.  

  • November 24, 2025

    Amazon Says Digital Film Sales Are Not Like Owning DVDs

    Amazon has urged a Seattle federal court judge to toss a proposed class action alleging the company lies to customers about whether they actually own movies purchased on its Prime Video platform, arguing the e-commerce giant clearly informs buyers that "content might potentially become unavailable" later on.

  • November 24, 2025

    Mass. Judge Says States Can Fight Planned Parenthood Cuts

    A Massachusetts federal judge on Monday chided a Trump administration lawyer for continuing to argue that a coalition of states lacks standing to seek to block what it says is the effective defunding of Planned Parenthood, even as it only just received a lengthy list of new requirements for Medicaid reimbursement.

  • November 24, 2025

    Wash. Hits Regence BlueShield With Transparency Fine

    Washington's insurance commissioner slapped Regence BlueShield with a $550,000 fine, the state announced Monday, for purportedly violating reporting requirements under a federal law that says health insurers must provide the same level of coverage for mental health care as general medical care.

  • November 24, 2025

    Washington Judge Disciplined After Children Given Jobs

    The Washington Commission on Judicial Conduct reprimanded Stevens County District Court's presiding judge for greenlighting the hiring of her two adult children to various court positions, according to a Friday stipulation and order.  

  • November 24, 2025

    Apple Fights Bid To Recertify 200 Million IPhone Buyer Class

    Apple has urged the Ninth Circuit to deny a petition from customers seeking to restore certification of a consumer class plaintiffs say reaches "upwards of 200 million" with a collective $20 billion in damages, in litigation claiming that the tech giant violated antitrust laws with its App Store policies.

  • November 24, 2025

    Google Calls Rumble's Recusal Bid Irrelevant To Its Appeal

    Google is urging the Ninth Circuit to disregard concerns Rumble has raised about the trial judge's relationship with the tech giant's litigation vice president, saying Friday that the information is irrelevant to the YouTube rival's appeal of the court's ruling that its antitrust lawsuit was filed too late.

  • November 24, 2025

    High Court Skips Ex-BNSF Conductor's Retaliation Suit

    The U.S. Supreme Court declined Monday to wade into a former BNSF Railway conductor's suit claiming he was fired in retaliation for testing train cars' brakes, leaving in place a Ninth Circuit ruling that found the railroad had demonstrated he was let go for policy violations.

  • November 21, 2025

    Trump's DHS, FEMA Barred From Withholding Disaster Funds

    A California federal judge on Friday issued a preliminary injunction barring President Donald Trump's administration from threatening to withhold $350 million in funding for disaster and emergency response, ruling that a coalition of localities are likely to prevail in their suit challenging the administration.

  • November 21, 2025

    Garmin Systems Triggered 2022 Wash. Plane Crash, Suit Says

    The families of four people who died when a 2022 Cessna test flight crashed in Washington are blaming Garmin, alleging in a lawsuit the GPS giant designed faulty aircraft systems that wrestled control from the pilot and led to the plane's right wing falling off midair.

  • November 21, 2025

    Google Calls Rumble's Judge Recusal Bid 'Cynical Maneuver'

    Google argued Friday that a California federal judge need not recuse himself from YouTube rival Rumble's antitrust suit despite his friendship with Google's top in-house litigation chief, saying Rumble's push for the recusal was a "cynical maneuver" for its Ninth Circuit appeal of a summary judgment loss.

  • November 21, 2025

    Amazon Secures 1st Deal In Suit Targeting 'Refund Abuse'

    Amazon will be off-limits for five years to an accused fraudster who allegedly took advantage of a "refund abuse" scam that manipulated the company's return process to allow him to receive refunds for products without actually returning the goods, according to a settlement agreement approved Friday by a Seattle federal judge.

  • November 21, 2025

    IP Notebook: Kahwa Mix-Up, WallStreetBets, Hotel California

    This round of Law360's look at emerging copyright and trademark issues includes a Federal Circuit case over an obscure tea drink and a nod to the Eagles' "Hotel California" in a precedential decision that is a primer on having an actual intent to use a trademark.

  • November 21, 2025

    Real Estate Recap: REIT Reporting, Defining Water

    Catch up on this past week's key developments by state from Law360 Real Estate Authority — including reactions from real estate attorneys in two areas primed for deregulation.

  • November 21, 2025

    OpenAI Tells 9th Circ. TM Injunction Is 'Based On Guesses'

    OpenAI Inc. urged the Ninth Circuit on Friday to scrap a preliminary injunction won by IYO Inc. which blocks OpenAI from using the trademark associated with acquired competitor IO Products Inc., arguing there is no evidence that IYO faces irreparable harm and the injunction is "based on guesses" about OpenAI's future products.

  • November 21, 2025

    Tesla's Runaway Acceleration Led To Fatal Crash, Suit Says

    A Tesla Model 3 accelerated on its own, crashing into a utility pole and exploding into an inferno that killed a Washington woman and left her husband with serious injuries, according to a lawsuit filed on Friday in federal court.

  • November 21, 2025

    Nike Worker Blows Whistle On Alleged Wash. Wage Violations

    A Pacific Northwest retail worker is calling foul on Nike for allegedly denying employees rest and meal breaks, sick leave, overtime pay and other wages owed, according to a new lawsuit in Washington state court.

  • November 21, 2025

    9th Circ. Shuts Down Northern Mariana Retiree's COLA Claim

    The Ninth Circuit rejected a retiree's claim that a retirement fund for Northern Mariana Islands government employees owed her cost of living adjustments in her benefits, backing a ruling that a law promising COLAs to retirees doesn't extend to her.

  • November 20, 2025

    Starbucks Can't Dump Investors' 'Triple Shot' Strategy Suit

    Starbucks and its former CEO can't shed investor class action claims that the company harmed shareholders by concealing its struggles to implement a "reinvention plan," which came to light when the company disclosed that its sales were being harmed by longer waits for customized drinks in its U.S. stores and by fierce competition in China.

  • November 20, 2025

    9th Circ. Urged To Revive Google Maps Antitrust Suit

    App makers urged the Ninth Circuit on Thursday to revive a proposed class action targeting Google's Maps product, arguing that the lower court erred in failing to accept at the pleading stage their antitrust arguments that Google's terms suppressed competition, allowing Google to increase developer costs up to 1,400%.

  • November 20, 2025

    States Back Hockey Players In Antitrust Fight Over Contracts

    More than a dozen states have thrown their support behind current and former players in an antitrust lawsuit against the National Hockey League and its pipeline junior organizations, arguing a lower court's dismissal ignores how exclusive recruiting territories reduce competition for labor.

  • November 20, 2025

    Chancery Nixes Toss Of West Coast Diner Failure Suit

    Three fiduciaries of a now-shuttered Pacific states restaurant chain and its affiliates must face a claim in Delaware that they breached or aided breaches of fiduciary duties to the venture's Oregon-based affiliate, brought by an investor that pumped $18 million into the business, a vice chancellor ruled on Wednesday.

  • November 20, 2025

    Tacoma ICE Detainees To Get Notice Of Bond Hearing Rights

    A Washington federal judge indicated at a hearing Thursday that a certified class of immigrants detained at an ICE facility deserves notice about their rights to a bond hearing and potential release, asking government lawyers and the plaintiffs' attorneys for proposals on what that notice should look like.

Expert Analysis

  • How Attys Can Use AI To Surface Narratives In E-Discovery

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    E-discovery has reached a turning point where document review is no longer just about procedural tasks like identifying relevance and redacting privilege — rather, generative artificial intelligence tools now allow attorneys to draw connections, extract meaning and tell a coherent story, says Rose Jones at Hilgers Graben.

  • Justices Rethink Minimum Contacts For Foreign Entities

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    Two recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions, Devas v. Antrix and Fuld v. Palestine Liberation Organization, suggest that federal statutes may confer personal jurisdiction over foreign entities that have little to no contact with the U.S. — a significant departure from traditional due process principles, says Gary Shaw at Pillsbury.

  • Gauging The Risky Business Of Business Risk Disclosures

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    With the recent rise of securities fraud actions based on external events — like a data breach or environmental disaster — that drive down stock prices, risk disclosures have become more of a sword for the plaintiffs bar than a shield for public companies, now the subject of a growing circuit split, say attorneys at A&O Shearman.

  • Series

    Playing The Violin Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Playing violin in a string quartet reminds me that flexibility, ambition, strong listening skills, thoughtful leadership and intentional collaboration are all keys to a successful legal practice, says Julie Park at MoFo.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Practicing Self-Care

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    Law schools don’t teach the mental, physical and emotional health maintenance tools necessary to deal with the profession's many demands, but practicing self-care is an important key to success that can help to improve focus, manage stress and reduce burnout, says Rachel Leonard​​​​​​​ at MG+M.

  • Birthright Opinions Reveal Views On Rule 23(b)(2) Relief

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    The justices' multiple opinions in the U.S. Supreme Court’s June 27 decision in the birthright citizenship case, Trump v. CASA, shed light on whether Rule 23(b)(2) could fill the void created by the court's decision to restrict nationwide injunctions, says Benjamin Johns at Shub Johns.

  • ABA Opinion Makes It A Bit Easier To Drop A 'Hot Potato'

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    The American Bar Association's recent ethics opinion clarifies when attorneys may terminate clients without good cause, though courts may still disqualify a lawyer who drops a client like a hot potato, so sending a closeout letter is always a best practice, say attorneys at Thompson Hine.

  • Plan For Increased HSR Info Sharing With Wash. Antitrust Law

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    Washington's merger notification requirements, effective later this month, combined with the Federal Trade Commission's new Hart-Scott-Rodino Act rules, will result in greater information sharing among state and federal agencies, making it important for merging parties to consider their transaction's potential state antitrust implications early on, say attorneys at McDermott.

  • How High Court Ruling Can Aid Judgment Enforcement In US

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    In CC/Devas (Mauritius) v. Antrix, a unanimous U.S. Supreme Court recently ruled that only two steps are required to keep a foreign sovereign in federal court, making it a little easier for investors to successfully bring foreign states and sovereign-owned and -controlled entities into U.S. courts, says Kristie Blase at Felicello Law.

  • Series

    My Opera And Baseball Careers Make Me A Better Lawyer

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    Though participating in opera and the world of professional baseball often pulls me away from the office, my avocations improve my legal career by helping me perform under scrutiny, prioritize team success, and maintain joy and perspective at work, says Adam Unger at Herrick Feinstein.

  • 8 Ways Lawyers Can Protect The Rule Of Law In Their Work

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    Whether they are concerned with judicial independence, regulatory predictability or client confidence, lawyers can take specific meaningful actions on their own when traditional structures are too slow or too compromised to respond, says Angeli Patel at the Berkeley Center of Law and Business.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Communicating With Clients

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    Law school curricula often overlook client communication procedures, and those who actively teach this crucial facet of the practice can create exceptional client satisfaction and success, says Patrick Hanson at Wiggam Law.

  • One Year On, Davidson Holds Lessons On 'Health Halo' Claims

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    A year after the Ninth Circuit's Davidson v. Sprout Foods decision — which raised the bar for so-called health halo claims — food and beverage companies can draw insights from its finding, subsequently expanded on by other courts, that plaintiffs must be specific when alleging fraud in healthfulness marketing, say attorneys at Sidley.

  • Series

    Adapting To Private Practice: From US Rep. To Boutique Firm

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    My transition from serving as a member of Congress to becoming a partner at a boutique firm has been remarkably smooth, in part because I never stopped exercising my legal muscles, maintained relationships with my former colleagues and set the right tone at the outset, says Mondaire Jones at Friedman Kaplan.

  • Opinion

    Senate's 41% Litigation Finance Tax Would Hurt Legal System

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    The Senate’s latest version of the Big Beautiful Bill Act would impose a 41% tax on the litigation finance industry, but the tax is totally disconnected from the concerns it purports to address, and it would set the country back to a time when small plaintiffs had little recourse against big defendants, says Anthony Sebok at Cardozo School of Law.

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