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California

  • August 15, 2025

    Acting USPTO Head Returns Amazon's IP Challenge To PTAB

    The acting head of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has faulted the Patent Trial and Appeal Board's analysis when it denied Amazon's bid for review of a patent on running mobile phones in the cloud, sending the case back to the board for another look.

  • August 15, 2025

    Engineering Consultant Says Ex-Principal Can't Jump To Rival

    Engineering and environmental consulting firm Partner Assessment Corp. has asked a federal judge to block a former principal from taking a high-level role at another firm, saying the former employee violated a noncompete agreement by accepting a job at a direct competitor.

  • August 15, 2025

    X Denied Early Win In Ex-Worker's WARN Act Fight

    A California federal court turned down X Corp.'s bid for an early win in a suit alleging Twitter employees weren't given proper notice of mass layoffs that followed Elon Musk's takeover of the social media company, citing disputes between the parties over why the ex-worker who sued was let go.

  • August 15, 2025

    Google Asks 9th Circ. To Rethink Play Store Antitrust Ruling

    Google urged the Ninth Circuit to reconsider a panel's decision to affirm a jury's findings that it monopolized the Android app market, saying the panel made several missteps when evaluating the claims and contended the injunction issued as a result of the verdict goes too far.

  • August 15, 2025

    Bikers Say Suzuki Motorcycles Have Decades-Old Brake Defect

    A proposed class of motorcycle buyers is alleging that Suzuki Motor of America Inc. has known but done nothing about a dangerous defect in its bikes' braking system for more than a decade.

  • August 15, 2025

    LA Judge Upholds $2M Award In Cannabis Investment Battle

    A Los Angeles state court judge upheld a $2.25 million judgment against the manager of a medical marijuana collective accused of defrauding an investor, chastising him for "never even" attempting to bring in key evidence that would allegedly help his case.

  • August 15, 2025

    Calif. Student Housing Complex Files Ch. 11

    University Park Berkeley LLC, the operator of a student housing complex in Berkeley, California, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Thursday in a California bankruptcy court, listing between $50 million and $100 million in debt.

  • August 14, 2025

    Lizzo Touring Co. Wants Designer Sanctioned Over Health Info

    Lizzo's touring company urged a California federal judge to sanction a former designer for failing to disclose records of receiving mental health treatment to support her emotional distress claim, arguing Wednesday it was forced to hire its own expert to examine her and prepare a rebuttal without those records. 

  • August 14, 2025

    9th Circ. Won't Revive 3M Worker's Noncompete Dispute

    The Ninth Circuit on Thursday declined to revive a former 3M Co. employee's lawsuit over a noncompete provision in his employment contract, agreeing with a Washington federal court's finding that the complaint failed to allege 3M actually enforced or leveraged the noncompete in violation of state law.

  • August 14, 2025

    9th Circ. Restores Boeing's $72M Loss In Electric Jet IP Suit

    A Ninth Circuit panel reinstated a $72 million jury verdict against Boeing in an electric jet startup's trade secret case on Thursday and said a new judge should handle future proceedings, flagging the trial judge's late disclosure that his spouse acquired Boeing stock through an IRA during the litigation.

  • August 14, 2025

    Grubhub, Driver Ink $24.8M Deal To End Decade-Long Dispute

    Grubhub Inc. and a former delivery driver who accused the mobile food delivery platform of misclassifying him as an independent contractor have reached a $24.75 million settlement in his nearly decade-old lawsuit, with the driver deeming the deal an "excellent result" for a proposed settlement class of California drivers.

  • August 14, 2025

    Truist Settles Class Claims Over Third-Party Data Trackers

    Truist Financial Corp. has settled a proposed class action accusing the company of embedding third-party trackers on its website for companies like Meta and Google to use to monetize user data through advertising, according to a joint settlement notice filed Thursday in California federal court.

  • August 14, 2025

    Meta Seeks To Beat Metabyte TM Suit: No 'Iota' Of Confusion

    Social media giant Meta Platforms Inc. urged a California federal judge on Thursday to let it beat a trademark infringement lawsuit from a Silicon Valley staffing agency that's done business as Metabyte Inc. since 1993, saying there's no evidence that any confusion from job seekers "had an iota of an effect" on the 30-year-old business.

  • August 14, 2025

    9th Circ. OKs Returning Calif. Farm Wage Suit To State Court

    A California farmworker's wage and hour suit against Sunsweet Growers Inc. can proceed in state court, a Ninth Circuit panel ruled Thursday, rejecting the company's argument that the suit belongs in federal court and should be dismissed.

  • August 14, 2025

    Willkie Lays Off Staff After San Francisco Group Departs

    Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP has laid off five staff members in San Francisco following the departure of a group of 20 lawyers from the office amid discord over the law firm's decision to ink a deal with the Trump administration to avoid an executive order, sources say.

  • August 14, 2025

    9th Circ. Affirms Damages In Litigation Support Services Dispute

    The Ninth Circuit on Thursday affirmed a Nevada federal court's judgment awarding a litigation support services company a combined $350,000 in liquidated damages and attorney fees after finding a competitor breached their years-old settlement and violated its trademark, determining the district court had not selectively enforced the rules.

  • August 14, 2025

    Zillow Brings Goldman Fight To Skeptical 9th Circ.

    The Ninth Circuit on Thursday cast doubt on Zillow Group Inc.'s efforts to decertify an investor class claiming that the real estate listing site oversold a now-shuttered home-buying program, appearing skeptical of arguments that a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision worked in the company's favor.

  • August 14, 2025

    Energy Co. Can't Avoid 401(k) Forfeiture, Fee Fight

    A Florida federal judge refused Thursday to toss a proposed class action against NextEra Energy from an employee 401(k) participant who alleged plan forfeitures were misspent and that a recordkeeper illegally profited off retirement plan earnings, opening discovery on allegations that the conduct violated federal benefits law.

  • August 14, 2025

    Calif. Justices Say No Arb. For Nursing Home Death Claim

    The California Supreme Court on Thursday reversed a decision sending to arbitration a wrongful death claim by parents who allege their son was neglected at the 24-hour skilled nursing facility he was admitted to.

  • August 14, 2025

    ServiceNow Inks $925K Deal In 401(k) Target-Date Fund Suit

    Software company ServiceNow will pay $925,000 to settle a proposed class action alleging the business cost workers millions in savings by failing to trim underperforming target-date funds from its 401(k) plan, according to filings in California federal court docketed Thursday.

  • August 14, 2025

    Wilcox Case Dims Amazon NLRB Injunction Hopes At 9th Circ.

    A Ninth Circuit panel appeared unlikely Thursday to block the National Labor Relations Board from pressing a case against Amazon, as judges noted the company appears to already have the prize its suit seeks: an end to the bar on the president removing NLRB members.

  • August 14, 2025

    Dropbox Cleared On 1 Of 2 Cloud-Computing Patents

    A California federal judge has granted Dropbox Inc. a declaration of noninfringement on one cloud-computing patent asserted by a web developer, but said there was a genuine dispute as to whether the company had infringed a second patent.

  • August 14, 2025

    20 States Win Injunction Against ICE's Use Of Medicaid Data

    A California federal judge has blocked the federal government from using Medicaid information from 20 states for immigration enforcement purposes, marking a partial victory for the coalition of states challenging a new data-sharing arrangement between the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Homeland Security.   

  • August 14, 2025

    Who Owns A Beat? The Dispute Over Reggaeton's Core Sound

    The origin of the rhythm that underpins much of reggaeton music is at the center of a copyright lawsuit from Jamaican artists who claim a loop from an instrumental song they released in 1989 has become foundational to reggaeton, which thousands of songs have copied without permission.

  • August 14, 2025

    Insurer Avoids Bad Faith Claims In $2M Vandalism Case

    A California state court dismissed a property owner's claims that its insurer refused in bad faith to cover nearly $2 million in vandalism losses after its tenant, a cannabis cultivator, ended its lease, but found the owner's breach of contract claim can still proceed to trial.

Expert Analysis

  • State, Fed Junk Fee Enforcement Shows No Signs Of Slowing

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    The Federal Trade Commission’s potent new rule targeting drip pricing, in addition to the growing patchwork of state consumer protection laws, suggest that enforcement and litigation targeting junk fees will likely continue to expand, says Etia Rottman Frand at Darrow AI.

  • 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.

  • What Expanding Merchant Code Regs Mean For Processors

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    Arkansas and South Dakota recently joined a host of other states that restrict payment processors' usage of merchant category codes with laws that include noteworthy prohibitions against maintaining registries of firearms owners, with ramifications for multistate payment systems, say attorneys at Mayer Brown.

  • 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.

  • Latest Influencer Marketing Class Actions Pinpoint 5 Themes

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    Several recent deceptive marketing class actions against both brands and influencers attempt to transform arguably routine business practices into a new focus area for consumer complaints, suggesting a coordinated approach to test what could become an increasingly popular area of litigation, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • 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.

  • FMLA Expansion Sees State Progress Despite Federal Barriers

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    Recent legislative efforts to expand the Family and Medical Leave Act reflect workers' growing demand for work-life balance, but as federal proposals continue to face significant hurdles, states have stepped in, creating a labyrinth of leave laws and compliance headaches for multistate employers, say attorneys at FordHarrison.

  • 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.

  • 4 Consumer Class Action Trends To Watch In 2nd Half Of 2025

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    The first half of 2025 has seen a surge of consumer class action trends related to online tools, websites and marketing messages, creating a new legal risk landscape for companies of all sizes, says Scott Shaffer at Olshan Frome.

  • 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.

  • How State AG Consumer Finance Enforcement Is Expanding

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    As the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau becomes less active, state attorneys general are increasingly shaping the enforcement landscape for consumer financial services — and several areas of focus have recently emerged, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

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