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California

  • September 22, 2025

    Developer Gets 8 Years For Fraud That Sunk Belize Project

    A Manhattan federal judge sentenced a California real estate developer with a previous fraud conviction Monday to eight years in prison, after a jury convicted him of defrauding investors who backed a big luxury development he controlled called Sanctuary Belize.

  • September 22, 2025

    Calif. County Defender To Pay $200K In Harassment Probe

    A California public defender's office has agreed to pay $200,000 to an employee to resolve the worker's claims that a superior sexually harassed them on the job through inappropriate comments and unwanted touching, the state's Civil Rights Department announced Monday.

  • September 22, 2025

    Alorica 401(k) Participants Win ERISA Class Cert.

    A California federal judge agreed Monday to certify a class of participants in business process company Alorica's 401(k) plan who alleged that high fees and poorly performing investments violated federal benefits law, holding that the proposed 4,000-member group had enough in common to warrant the court's signoff.

  • September 22, 2025

    Toy Company Eyes UBS Records Amid FINRA Arbitration

    A toy company whose brands include Bratz dolls and Little Tikes has urged an Iowa federal judge to unseal records that it says will bolster its arbitration against UBS over claims that the global wealth manager wrongly advised the company to short-sell Tesla stock.

  • September 22, 2025

    Newsom Approves Bill Reversing Calif. Cannabis Tax Hike

    California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday signed into law a bill that reverses a tax increase on regulated cannabis businesses, in an effort to give the state's beleaguered marijuana industry some financial relief.

  • September 22, 2025

    VC Partner Fights IRS Summonses Tied To Korean Tax Probe

    A partner at a U.S. venture capital firm urged a California federal court to quash IRS summonses seeking information on his bank accounts in connection with his tax liabilities in South Korea, saying the agency failed to meet requirements for enforcing the summonses.

  • September 22, 2025

    McDonald's, UK Insurer Entity To End $5.5M Coverage Fight

    McDonald's and a London-based insurer entity formally asked an Illinois federal court to terminate their dispute over the fast-food chain's claim for more than $5.5 million in outstanding coverage for property damage stemming from a high-speed vehicle crash.

  • September 22, 2025

    Girardi Loses Bid To Avoid Prison During Appeal

    Disgraced attorney Tom Girardi will have to wait in prison while he appeals his wire fraud conviction for stealing from his own clients, a California federal judge has ruled.

  • September 22, 2025

    Feds Oppose Calif. Tribes' Bid To Halt Casino Dispute

    The U.S. government has asked a District of Columbia federal court judge to reject a stay motion filed by three California Native American tribes that are challenging the approval of another tribe's casino-resort project, arguing that the trio has failed to justify pausing the suit before the court rules on the government's request for a Golden State federal court transfer.

  • September 19, 2025

    Trump Tags H-1B Visa Apps With $100,000 Fee

    President Donald Trump on Friday signed an executive order to impose a $100,000 fee for H-1B visas, framing it as a "restriction on entry" necessary to stem the entry of high-skilled foreign workers, particularly in science and technology fields.

  • September 19, 2025

    Uber Expert Testifies Most Sex-Incident Claims Aren't Assault

    Uber's statistics expert Friday told jurors considering a California bellwether trial over sexual assault allegations against the ride-hailing giant that about 70% of the tens of thousands of sexual misconduct incidents that plaintiffs have claimed Uber doesn't report are allegations short of assault, like offensive comments, gestures, leering and staring.

  • September 19, 2025

    Nvidia Objects To Class Cert. In Former High Court Case

    Nvidia has urged a California federal court to not grant class certification in a case that briefly went before the U.S. Supreme Court, arguing the plaintiffs' claims that the company failed to inform investors about its reliance on the volatile crypto market are too individualized to proceed as a group.

  • September 19, 2025

    Film Co. Founders Accused Of $1.2M Con For Fake Pot Co.

    A Los Angeles film company and its founders are accused of fraudulently taking $1.2 million from a private equity fund, spending it on luxury properties, artwork and their existing ventures, but never putting a dime of the loan on its intended purpose, launching a "booming cannabis empire," according to a lawsuit filed in California state court.

  • September 19, 2025

    BofI Directors Beat Investor Suit Over Whistleblower Probe

    A California federal judge has permanently dismissed a shareholder derivative suit against the top brass of BofI Holding Inc. accusing them of misconduct that led to a costly internal investigation into a whistleblower's allegations, finding the plaintiff failed to demonstrate that a pre-suit demand upon the board would have been futile.

  • September 19, 2025

    Real Estate Recap: Rate Cut, REIT Rules, Construction Debt

    Catch up on this past week's key developments by state from À¶Ý®ÊÓÆµ Real Estate Authority — including reactions to the Fed's interest rate cut, new guidance for states reviewing securities issued by public nonlisted real estate investment trusts, and a look at the banks with the most construction debt.

  • September 19, 2025

    Aerospace Co. Workers' 401(k) Management Suit Falls Flat

    An aerospace technology company Friday largely defeated a proposed class action alleging its 401(k) plan was loaded with costly and underperforming investment options after a California federal judge said plan participants hadn't shown the investment strategy was unreasonable.

  • September 19, 2025

    Trump Administration Takes TPS Fight Back To Supreme Court

    The Trump administration took its fight to end temporary protected status for Venezuela back to the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday, urging the justices to stay a district court decision that found the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's attempt to unwind those protections unlawful.

  • September 19, 2025

    9th Circ.: Feds Can't Give Up On 'Unclaimed' Hearing Notices

    The Ninth Circuit has ruled the government cannot merely "throw up its hands and do nothing" when it learns a removal hearing notice has been returned unclaimed, vacating a lower court's denial of a Mexican immigrant's dismissal bid in a case accusing him of reentering the United States illegally.

  • September 19, 2025

    Justices Asked To Review Optional NAR Rule In Zillow Case

    A defunct brokerage platform is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to review its case accusing Zillow and the National Association of Realtors of stamping out competition by using the trade association's optional rule to relegate outside home listings to a secondary tab on Zillow's site.

  • September 19, 2025

    Calif. Official Questions FCC Power To Trim Historic Reviews

    The head of California's Office of Historic Preservation has criticized the Federal Communications Commission's decision to weigh regulatory changes that would streamline environmental and historic reviews for wireless broadband infrastructure projects.

  • September 19, 2025

    SoCal Edison Inks Deal To Recover $2B In Woolsey Losses

    Southern California Edison Co. revealed in a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing Friday that it has reached a proposed settlement that would allow it to recover about $2 billion of its estimated $5.6 billion in losses connected to the 2018 Woolsey Fire.

  • September 19, 2025

    'Drop' Maker Blumhouse Accused Of Ripping Off Horror Script

    RG Media Properties sued Los Angeles horror filmmaker Blumhouse Productions in California federal court alleging that the production company's 2025 film "Drop" infringes the copyright for the script "Table 18," which the suit says tells the same tale of a first date that devolves into a violent hostage situation.

  • September 19, 2025

    Prince's Estate Seeks To Toss 'Purple Rain' Star's TM Suit

    The estate of pop icon Prince has asked a California federal judge to dismiss a trademark complaint from the late musician's co-star in the movie "Purple Rain" over the name "Apollonia," saying the court does not have subject matter jurisdiction over a dispute that's also playing out at the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board.

  • September 19, 2025

    Privacy Class Suit Over Meta Code On Sports Site Stays Alive

    A California man's proposed class action accusing a website that provides free instructional sports videos of invading his privacy by way of Meta Platforms Inc. code will continue in federal court, after a judge denied the website's motions to dismiss the suit and to change the venue.

  • September 19, 2025

    Calif. Bar Escapes Class Claims Over Girardi Case

    A Los Angeles judge has dismissed a proposed class action brought against the State Bar of California accusing the agency and its former leadership of mishandling its investigation into former celebrity attorney Tom Girardi, who was convicted of swindling clients, after plaintiffs seemingly abandoned the case.

Expert Analysis

  • Rebuttal

    BigLaw Settlements Should Not Spur Ethics Deregulation

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    A recent À¶Ý®ÊÓÆµ op-ed argued that loosening law firm funding restrictions would make BigLaw firms less inclined to settle with the Trump administration, but deregulating legal financing ethics may well prove to be not merely ineffective, but counterproductive, says Laurel Kilgour at the American Economic Liberties Project.

  • Opinion

    8th Circ. Should Reaffirm False Commercial Speech's Nature

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    The Eighth Circuit in Goldfinch Laboratory v. Iowa Pathology Associates should assert that false commercial speech is not categorically immune from antitrust scrutiny, says Daniel Graulich at the Federal Trade Commission.

  • 9th Circ. Leaves Scope Of CIPA Applicability Unclear

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    Three recent Ninth Circuit decisions declined to directly address whether all of the California Invasion of Privacy Act's provisions actually apply to internet activity, and given this uncertainty, companies should heed five recommendations when seeking to minimize CIPA litigation risk, say attorneys at Skadden.

  • Environmental Justice Is Alive And Well At The State Level

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    Even as the Trump administration has rolled back federal environmental justice policies, many states continue to prioritize it, with new regulations, strengthened enforcement of existing rules and ongoing private litigation — so companies must stay alert to how state-level EJ enforcement may affect their operations, say attorneys at Crowell & Moring.

  • 5 Ways Lawyers Can Earn Back The Public's Trust

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    Amid salacious headlines about lawyers behaving badly and recent polls showing the public’s increasingly unfavorable view of attorneys, we must make meaningful changes to our culture to rebuild trust in the legal system, says Carl Taylor at Carl Taylor Law.

  • Class Actions At The Circuit Courts: August Lessons

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    In this month's review of class action appeals, Mitchell Engel at Shook Hardy discusses key takeaways from federal appellate decisions involving topics including antitrust, immigration, consumer fraud, birthright citizenship under the Fourteenth Amendment, and product defects.

  • Notable Q2 Updates In Insurance Class Actions

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    Vehicle valuation challenges regarding the use of projected sale adjustments continued apace in insurance class actions this quarter, where insurers have been scoring victories on class certification decisions in federal circuit courts, says Mathew Drocton at BakerHostetler.

  • Series

    Hiking Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    On the trail, I have thought often about the parallels between hiking and high-stakes patent litigation, and why strategizing, preparation, perseverance and joy are important skills for success in both endeavors, says Barbara Fiacco at Foley Hoag.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Negotiation Skills

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    I took one negotiation course in law school, but most of the techniques I rely on today I learned in practice, where I've discovered that the process is less about tricks or tactics, and more about clarity, preparation and communication, says Grant Schrantz at Haug Barron.

  • Conflicting Developments In Homelessness Legal Landscape

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    Looking at an executive order and Third Circuit opinion from last month highlights the ongoing tension in homelessness-related legal issues facing state and local governments, property owners, and individuals experiencing homelessness, says Josh Collins, an attorney for the City of South Salt Lake.

  • Opinion

    Bar Exam Reform Must Expand Beyond A Single Updated Test

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    Recently released information about the National Conference of Bar Examiners’ new NextGen Uniform Bar Exam highlights why a single test is not ideal for measuring newly licensed lawyers’ competency, demonstrating the need for collaborative development, implementation and reform processes, says Gregory Bordelon at Suffolk University.

  • How States Are Regulating Health Insurers' AI Usage

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    The absence of a federal artificial intelligence framework positions states as key regulators of health insurers’ AI use, making it important for payors and service providers to understand the range of state AI legislation being passed in California and elsewhere, and consider implementing an AI-focused compliance infrastructure, say attorneys at Ropes & Gray.

  • Export Misconduct Resolutions Emphasize BIS, DOJ Priorities

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    The U.S. Department of Justice's and Bureau of Industry and Security's recently resolved parallel enforcement actions against semiconductor technology company Cadence Design demonstrate the agencies' prioritization of penalties for export control violations involving China, as well as the importance of voluntary self-disclosure, say attorneys at Fenwick.

  • Disney Art Suit Will Test Recent AI Fair Use Boundaries

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    While the first U.S. rulings to address the issue recently held that it's fair use for generative artificial intelligence models to train on certain copyrighted books without permission, Disney v. Midjourney, filed in June, will test the limits of the fair use framework in a visual art context, says Rob Rosenberg at Moses & Singer.

  • Location Data And Online Tracking Trends To Watch

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    Regulators and class action plaintiffs are increasingly targeting companies' use of online tracking technologies and geolocation data in both privacy enforcement and litigation, so organizations should view compliance as a dynamic, cross-functional responsibility as scrutiny becomes increasingly aggressive and multifaceted, say attorneys at Arnold & Porter.

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