Washington

  • June 25, 2024

    Project Veritas Rips Ore. Recording Ban At En Banc 9th Circ.

    Project Veritas urged an en banc Ninth Circuit panel Tuesday to find that Oregon's decades-old statute that makes it a felony to secretly record people in public places violates the First Amendment, arguing the "dangerous" statute deters investigative journalism as "one of the broadest recording laws in the nation."

  • June 25, 2024

    FAA Not Off The Hook In Nevada Plane Crash, 9th Circ. Rules

    The Federal Aviation Administration has been dragged back into a $6.5 million lawsuit accusing it of causing a fatal single-engine plane crash, killing its pilot and passenger, after the Ninth Circuit ruled that the agency's air traffic controller breached his duty of reasonable care.

  • June 25, 2024

    Wash. Contractor, Insurer Resolve Redress Cost Dispute

    A Washington federal court tossed a dispute between a mechanical contractor and its insurer over coverage for about $355,500 in "redress expenses" the contractor claims it incurred while working on a surgical center remodeling project to prevent future claims lodged against it.

  • June 25, 2024

    Amazon Says It Shares 'Cookies,' But Not Prime Viewers' ID

    Amazon.com Inc. on Tuesday urged a federal judge to toss a proposed class action filed by Prime movie subscribers, calling the privacy complaint a "smokescreen" attempting to get around the terms of a use agreement that allows advertisers to access cookies that don't identify specific customers.

  • June 25, 2024

    FTC Suit Merely 'Publicity Stunt,' Seattle Bill Pay Biz Says

    A Seattle-based online bill pay platform has accused the Federal Trade Commission of filing a baseless consumer protection suit against it, telling a Washington federal court the company has already gone above and beyond its legal obligations to satisfy regulators' concerns about misleading ads and hidden fees.

  • June 25, 2024

    Wash. HOA Drops Water Damage Coverage Claims

    A homeowners association agreed to drop its Washington federal case seeking up to $8.7 million in coverage for "hidden" water damage to its condos.

  • June 25, 2024

    9th Circ. Won't Revive Ex-County Worker's Race Bias Suit

    The Ninth Circuit backed a Nevada county's defeat of a Black former juvenile probation officer's lawsuit claiming he was fired because he'd previously filed a discrimination suit against the county, saying Tuesday rumors and a supervisor's rude attitude weren't enough to sustain his bias allegations.

  • June 25, 2024

    USA Swimming's Suit Against Watchdog Can Continue

    A nonprofit watchdog cannot escape possible financial ramifications related to a botched investigation into false sexual misconduct accusations, after a Colorado state judge ruled it must face an indemnification lawsuit brought by USA Swimming after the accused boy's mother sued the organization.  

  • June 25, 2024

    Cooley Adds Ex-CPSC Chair To Product Safety Group

    The former chair of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has joined Cooley LLP, a return to private practice he told Law360 came about after a health crisis, trips to war-torn Ukraine for his prior nonprofit job, and a personal "sabbatical" that led him to refocus his life.

  • June 24, 2024

    Bill Pay Co. Tricks Consumers With 'Dark Patterns,' Suit Says

    Third-party bill payment company Doxo Inc. and two of its co-founders have been hit with a proposed class action alleging the company uses so-called dark patterns to trick consumers into using its website to pay other companies' bills online.

  • June 24, 2024

    Teamsters Fund Must Face Pension Conversion Suit

    A West Coast-based Teamsters pension fund must keep facing claims that it shortchanged married retirees by using outdated data to convert their benefits from single-life annuity form, with a Washington federal judge deeming the suit strong enough to beat the fund's dismissal motion.

  • June 24, 2024

    Apple, Amazon Assail Hagens Berman's Class Rep 'Charade'

    Apple and Amazon.com blasted Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP for trying to "have it both ways" in an antitrust suit over a pact between the companies restricting Amazon iPhone and iPad sales to approved vendors, arguing the firm cannot withdraw its original named plaintiff without forcing him to testify.

  • June 24, 2024

    Doctor Left Text Trail Describing NBA Fraud Scheme, Jury Told

    Prosecutors told a Manhattan federal jury that a Seattle medical professional sent a series of text messages detailing a plan to submit fraudulent claims to an NBA healthcare plan to obtain payouts, kicking off a second trial over the alleged scheme.

  • June 24, 2024

    Illinois, Other States Back FTC Bid To Affirm Intuit Ad Ruling

    Illinois, along with 20 other states and the District of Columbia, defended the Federal Trade Commission in tax software giant Intuit's Fifth Circuit constitutional challenge to the agency's findings that the company engaged in deceptive advertising, saying in an amicus brief that the FTC's conclusion was correct.

  • June 24, 2024

    LA Schools Says Pseudoscience Infected 9th Circ. Vax Ruling

    The Los Angeles Unified School District said Friday that a split Ninth Circuit panel leaned on pseudoscience when ruling that a rescinded employee COVID-19 vaccination mandate implicated the right of district employees to refuse medical treatment, urging an en banc panel to correct the "fatally flawed" decision.

  • June 24, 2024

    Mars Beats Dove Chocolate False Ad Suit At 9th Circ.

    The Ninth Circuit affirmed the dismissal Monday of a proposed class action claiming that a Mars subsidiary falsely advertised its Dove dark chocolate products as being made without using child slave labor or contributing to rainforest deforestation, finding that the candy packages' "Rainforest Alliance Certified farms" labeling isn't misleading.

  • June 24, 2024

    Sirius XM Made Millions Off Hidden Royalty Fee, Suit Alleges

    Sirius XM Radio Inc. has been tricking customers into paying an extra 21% every month by tacking a hidden "royalty fee" onto bills, according to a new proposed class action alleging that the fee is responsible for every bit of the company's profits for the last several years.

  • June 24, 2024

    9th Circ. Asks Wash. Justices If Uber Had Duty To Slain Driver

    The Ninth Circuit urged Washington's highest court Monday to determine whether Uber had a duty to use reasonable care to protect one of its drivers who was murdered in a carjacking, in an order that paused an appeal brought by the driver's family.

  • June 24, 2024

    9th Circ. Won't Revive Ex-Uber Driver's Bias Suit

    An Asian man who previously drove for Uber didn't provide enough information in his proposed class action to support his claim that the ride-hailing platform's use of customer ratings when making decisions to drop drivers had a "significant disparate impact" on non-white drivers, the Ninth Circuit said Monday.

  • June 24, 2024

    Justices Send 3 US Trustee Fee Cases Back To Lower Courts

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday vacated three appellate court decisions ordering refunds to debtors who had overpaid U.S. Trustee's Office fees under a previous fee structure and remanded the cases for further adjudication after resolving the issue earlier this month.

  • June 21, 2024

    Real Estate Recap: Distressed Deals, Housing Hurdles, Infill

    Catch up on this week's key state developments from Law360 Real Estate Authority — including tips for guiding distressed office deals, the latest intel from Harvard University's Joint Center for Housing Studies, and how one U.S. city has been a magnet for federal funding of brownfield projects.

  • June 21, 2024

    DOL Says Union's Farm Wage Challenge Too Late

    The U.S. Department of Labor has pushed back against a challenge to rules introduced in 2022 that a Washington union said are depressing farmworkers' wages, telling a federal judge Friday that the union should have objected during the rule-making period.

  • June 21, 2024

    Financial Advice Guru Says Timeshare Suit Must Be Arbitrated

    A famous financial advice guru and his company have urged a Washington federal court to pause a proposed timeshare exit fraud class action and send it into arbitration, arguing that several of the named plaintiffs signed related agreements that include arbitration clauses.

  • June 21, 2024

    9th Circ. Axes 2 Symetra Structured Deal Recipient Classes

    The Ninth Circuit on Thursday scrapped two classes in a lawsuit accusing an insurance conglomerate of wrongfully inducing personal injury settlement recipients to give up their rights to periodic payments in exchange for a discounted immediate lump sum payment, saying individual issues will predominate over common issues.

  • June 21, 2024

    Aramark Sued In Wash. For Alleged Pay Transparency Lapses

    Aramark has been accused of violating Washington state's pay transparency law by failing to give full pay ranges in job postings, according to a proposed class action the food services giant removed to Washington federal court on Thursday.

Expert Analysis

  • No AI FRAUD Act Is A Significant Step For Right Of Publicity

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    The No Artificial Intelligence Fake Replicas and Unauthorized Duplications Act's proposed federal right of publicity protection, including post-mortem rights, represents a significant step toward harmonizing the landscape of right of publicity law, Rachel Hofstatter and Aaron Rosenthal at Honigman.

  • Series

    Cheering In The NFL Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Balancing my time between a BigLaw career and my role as an NFL cheerleader has taught me that pursuing your passions outside of work is not a distraction, but rather an opportunity to harness important skills that can positively affect how you approach work and view success in your career, says Rachel Schuster at Sheppard Mullin.

  • 6 Pointers For Attys To Build Trust, Credibility On Social Media

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    In an era of information overload, attorneys can use social media strategically — from making infographics to leveraging targeted advertising — to cut through the noise and establish a reputation among current and potential clients, says Marly Broudie at SocialEyes Communications.

  • 5 Lessons For SaaS Companies After Blackbaud Data Breach

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    Looking at the enforcement actions that software-as-a-service provider Blackbaud resolved with state attorneys general, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the Federal Trade Commission in the past year can help SaaS companies manage these increasingly common forms of data breaches, say attorneys at Orrick.

  • Class Actions At The Circuit Courts: February Lessons

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    In this month's review of class action appeals, Mitchell Engel at Shook Hardy discusses five notable circuit court decisions on topics from property taxes to veteran's rights — and provides key takeaways for counsel on issues including class representative intervention, wage-and-hour dispute evidence and ascertainability requirements.

  • A Post-Mortem Analysis Of Stroock's Demise

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    After the dissolution of 147-year-old firm Stroock late last year shook up the legal world, a post-mortem analysis of the data reveals a long list of warning signs preceding the firm’s collapse — and provides some insight into how other firms might avoid the same disastrous fate, says Craig Savitzky at Leopard Solutions.

  • Aviation Watch: 737 Max Blowout Raises Major Safety Issues

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    The sudden in-flight loss of a side panel on an Alaska Air 737-9 Max last month, leaving a gaping hole in the side of the plane's cabin, highlighted ongoing quality issues at Boeing, the jet's manufacturer — but the failure also arose from decisions made by the airline, says Alan Hoffman, a retired attorney and aviation expert.

  • Series

    Coaching High School Wrestling Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Coaching my son’s high school wrestling team has been great fun, but it’s also demonstrated how a legal career can benefit from certain experiences, such as embracing the unknown, studying the rules and engaging with new people, says Richard Davis at Maynard Nexsen.

  • Takeaways From 9th Circ. Nix Of Ex-GOP Rep.'s Conviction

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    The Ninth Circuit recently reversed the conviction of former Rep. Jeff Fortenberry, R-Neb., for lying to the FBI, showing that the court will rein in aggressive attempts by the government to expand the reach of criminal prosecutions — and deepening a circuit split on an important venue issue, say attorneys at Skadden.

  • SG's Office Is Case Study To Help Close Legal Gender Gap

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    As women continue to be underrepresented in the upper echelons of the legal profession, law firms could learn from the example set by the Office of the Solicitor General, where culture and workplace policies have helped foster greater gender equality, say attorneys at Ocean Tomo.

  • Ore. Insurance Ruling Opens Door To Extracontractual Claims

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    The Oregon Supreme Court's recent Moody v. Oregon Community Credit Union decision expanding an insurer's potential liability when adjusting life insurance policies exposes insurers to extracontractual tort liability, and the boundaries of this application will likely be tested through aggressive legal action, says Tessan Wess at GRSM50.

  • Navigating New Regulations In Healthcare And Other M&A

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    While notice requirements recently enacted in several states are focused on the healthcare industry for now, this trend could extend to other industries as these requirements are designed to allow regulators to be a step ahead and learn more about a transaction long before it occurs, say Kathleen Premo and Ashley Creech at Epstein Becker.

  • Reimagining Law Firm Culture To Break The Cycle Of Burnout

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    While attorney burnout remains a perennial issue in the legal profession, shifting post-pandemic expectations mean that law firms must adapt their office cultures to retain talent, say Kevin Henderson and Eric Pacifici at SMB Law Group.

  • Series

    Competing In Dressage Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    My lifelong participation in the sport of dressage — often called ballet on horses — has proven that several skills developed through training and competition are transferable to legal work, especially the ability to harness focus, persistence and versatility when negotiating a deal, says Stephanie Coco at V&E.

  • Potential Defendant Strategies Amid Calif. Privacy Questions

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    Although the current case law surrounding the California Consumer Privacy Act is in its infancy, courts have begun addressing important issues related to the notice-and-cure provisions of the statute, and these decisions show defendant-businesses would be wise to assert their notice rights early and repeatedly, say Viola Trebicka and Dan Humphrey at Quinn Emanuel.

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