À¶Ý®ÊÓÆµ

California

  • August 19, 2025

    Insurers Avoid Coverage For Alleged $8.5M Judgment Scheme

    Two insurers owed no coverage to companies facing abuse of process claims, a Minnesota federal court ruled in two separate cases decided on the same issues, finding that commercial general liability policies' coverage for malicious prosecution did not apply.

  • August 19, 2025

    Sacramento Says 2nd Circ. Erred In Cannabis Ruling

    The city of Sacramento has told the Ninth Circuit that the Second Circuit erred when it applied the U.S. Constitution's dormant commerce clause to marijuana, and urged the appellate court not to follow suit in a similar pending case.

  • August 19, 2025

    9th Circuit Pauses Oak Flat Land Transfer Pending Appeals

    A Ninth Circuit panel has hit pause on the federal government's scheduled transfer of a centuries-old Indigenous worship site within Arizona's Tonto National Forest to a copper mining company while challenges to a multibillion-dollar proposed project play out in the appellate court.

  • August 18, 2025

    Tesla Drivers Nab Class Cert. In 'Full Self-Driving' Suit

    A California federal judge Monday granted class certification in a consolidated lawsuit that accused Tesla Inc. of duping drivers into falsely believing that its cars can fully pilot themselves, but made some modifications to proposed class definitions.

  • August 18, 2025

    'Ketamine Queen' Takes Plea Deal In Matthew Perry Case

    The woman known as the "Ketamine Queen" of North Hollywood has agreed to plead guilty to providing the ketamine that led to the 2023 death of "Friends" star Matthew Perry, according to a plea agreement filed in California federal court on Monday.

  • August 18, 2025

    Williams-Sonoma Loses Bid To Narrow Thread-Count Class

    A California federal judge on Monday denied Williams-Sonoma's bid to exclude certain class members from a suit alleging it misled consumers about the thread count of its bedding, finding the company did not meet its burden to establish the consumers agreed to arbitrate their claims.

  • August 18, 2025

    PepsiCo Lied About Disabling Website Cookies, Suit Says

    PepsiCo Inc. and its Frito-Lay North America Inc. unit are letting third parties like Google and Facebook track browsing activities and collect the information of consumers who visit the food companies' websites, despite consumers selecting "no" to unnecessary cookies, a proposed class action in California federal court alleges.

  • August 18, 2025

    9th Circ. Splits Over Ore.'s Denial Of Christian Youth Grants

    A split Ninth Circuit panel on Monday largely upheld a lower court's refusal to preliminarily block Oregon's requirement that recipients of certain youth grants agree not to discriminate on the basis of religion, though it also said the rule is unconstitutional if it restricts any initiatives that aren't tied to the grants.

  • August 18, 2025

    Musk Seeks Early Win In Twitter Investor Fraud Case

    Elon Musk has asked a California federal judge to dismiss claims brought by a class of former Twitter investors in litigation accusing the right-wing billionaire of intentionally tanking the social media platform's stock price, arguing his statements made ahead of the deal are accurate.

  • August 18, 2025

    Pharma Company Beats Investor Suit Over Drug Safety Claims

    ChemoCentryx, a California-based pharmaceutical company, has secured summary judgment in shareholder litigation accusing it of overstating the efficacy of its newly developed treatment for an autoimmune disease called ANCA vasculitis, with a California court ruling that the ultimate regulatory approval of the drug may show that the company was not intentionally overhyping it.

  • August 18, 2025

    Buchalter Adds Ex-Alston & Bird Partner To IP Practice

    Buchalter PC said Monday that it was adding H. James Abe as an intellectual property shareholder to its Los Angeles office, bringing on an attorney who previously worked at Alston & Bird LLP and has experience with commercial disputes, transactions and licensing.

  • August 18, 2025

    Age Act Doesn't Cover UC Residency Bid, 9th Circ. Affirms

    The Ninth Circuit on Monday affirmed a district court's decision to grant summary judgment to the Regents of the University of California in an age discrimination suit brought by a medical residency applicant, holding that selecting medical residents is an employment practice not covered by the Age Discrimination Act.

  • August 18, 2025

    Lender Cites Flight Risk In $14M Home TRO Request

    A Chinese national asked a California federal court for an order freezing any potential sale of a luxury home in Arcadia, California, alleging it's indirectly owned by a couple who fled the country to avoid paying a $16 million arbitral award and other judgments.

  • August 18, 2025

    Akero Investor Suit Over Liver Drug Trials Permanently Tossed

    A California federal judge has permanently ended Akero Therapeutics investors' proposed class action alleging they were misled about the patient population in the company's liver disease treatment clinical trial, ruling the investors did not "fill-in the logical gaps" she previously identified when dismissing their earlier pleading for failing to plead scienter. 

  • August 18, 2025

    Insurer, Kennel Settle Coverage Dispute Over Nuisance Claims

    A Hanover unit and a dog kennel have resolved a dispute over coverage for an underlying suit alleging that the kennel's expansion interfered with a Golden State community's rights of possession, according to a California federal court filing.

  • August 18, 2025

    AGs Sue DOJ For Tying Victim Aid To ICE Enforcement

    A coalition of 21 state attorneys general, led by Matthew Platkin of New Jersey, filed suit against the Trump administration on Monday, accusing it of unlawfully tying $1 billion in crime victim funding to immigration enforcement, a move they say defies congressional intent and jeopardizes critical support for survivors.

  • August 18, 2025

    King & Spalding Brings On Goodwin Litigators In SF, DC

    King & Spalding LLP announced Monday that it has added two intellectual property attorneys from Goodwin Procter LLP to strengthen its business litigation practice group and its capacity to handle patent and trade secrets disputes.

  • August 18, 2025

    AmeriCorps Restores $400M In Slashed Grants, Judge Told

    AmeriCorps told a Maryland federal judge Monday that the agency restored around $400 million in funding to nonprofits canceled under the Trump administration in April, saying the government doesn't plan to ax grants before they end.

  • August 18, 2025

    RI, Wash. Say 2nd Circ. Dormant Commerce Pot Ruling Is Inapt

    Officials from Rhode Island and Washington state have said in separate letters to federal circuit courts that the Second Circuit's determination last week that the Constitution's dormant commerce clause applied to marijuana should not affect their pending appeals in related cases.

  • August 18, 2025

    IYO Asks 9th Circ. To Reject OpenAI's Bid To Ax TM Injunction

    Tech firm IYO Inc. urged the Ninth Circuit to leave in place a temporary bar on OpenAI using a mark associated with acquired company IO Products Inc. amid a trademark fight, saying it was improper for OpenAI to even ask the appellate court to hear the matter at this stage.

  • August 18, 2025

    DOJ Loses Bid To End Custody Protections For Migrant Kids

    A California federal judge denied the Trump administration's push to end a decades-old settlement governing the custody of detained immigrant children, urging the government to fulfill its promises if it wants to see the agreement ended.

  • August 18, 2025

    Weil Lands Kirkland Executive Compensation Pro In LA

    Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP is expanding its West Coast team, announcing Monday it is bringing in a Kirkland & Ellis LLP executive benefits expert as a partner in its year-old Los Angeles office.

  • August 15, 2025

    18 AGs, Governors Sue To Block DOE Funding Cap

    A coalition of 19 states and Washington, D.C., on Friday hauled the U.S. Department of Energy into Oregon federal court, challenging a policy they say places a new cap on reimbursements for administrative and staffing costs, and thus slashes funds needed for state-run energy programs.

  • August 15, 2025

    Stewart Issues Dozens More Discretionary Denial Decisions

    Acting U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Director Coke Morgan Stewart denied numerous petitions challenging patents on discretionary grounds this week, while referring a smaller number of cases to the Patent Trial and Appeal Board.

  • August 15, 2025

    Feds Say $2.8M In Seized Crypto Linked To Ransomware Ploy

    Federal prosecutors say they've seized $2.8 million in crypto from accounts controlled by an alleged ransomware attacker.

Expert Analysis

  • A Cold War-Era History Lesson On Due Process

    Author Photo

    The landmark Harry Bridges case from the mid-20th century Red Scare offers important insights on why lawyers must be free of government reprisal, no matter who their client is, says Peter Afrasiabi at One LLP.

  • Series

    Improv Makes Me A Better Lawyer

    Author Photo

    Improv keeps me grounded and connected to what matters most, including in my legal career where it has helped me to maintain a balance between being analytical, precise and professional, and creative, authentic and open-minded, says Justine Gottshall at InfoLawGroup.

  • TikTok Bias Suit Ruling Reflects New Landscape Under EFAA

    Author Photo

    In Puris v. Tiktok, a New York federal court found an arbitration agreement unenforceable in a former executive's bias suit, underscoring an evolving trend of broad, but inconsistent, interpretation of the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act, say attorneys at Williams & Connolly.

  • Avoiding Pitfalls Around New Calif. Commercial Lease Law

    Author Photo

    A California law that became effective this year requires commercial landlords to extend certain protections previously afforded to residential tenancies, and a few key provisions of the law especially warrant reexamination of leasing and operational processes, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.

  • How BigLaw Executive Orders May Affect Smaller Firms

    Author Photo

    Because of the types of cases they take on, solo practitioners, small law firms and public interest attorneys may find themselves more dramatically affected by the collective impact of recent government action involving the legal industry than even the BigLaw firms named in the executive orders, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.

  • Opinion

    Lawsuits Shouldn't Be Shadow Assets For Foreign Capital

    Author Photo

    Third-party litigation financing amplifies inefficiencies from litigation and facilitates national exposure to foreign influence in the U.S. justice system, so full disclosure of financing arrangements should be required as a matter of institutional integrity, says Roland Eisenhuth at the American Property Casualty Insurance Association.

  • How To Accelerate Your Post-Attorney Career Transition

    Author Photo

    Professionals seeking to transition to nonattorney careers may encounter skepticism as nontraditional candidates, but there are opportunities for thought leadership and to leverage speaking and writing to accelerate a post-attorney career transition, say Janet Falk at Falk Communications and Evgeny Efremkin at Toronto Metropolitan University.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Be An Indispensable Associate

    Author Photo

    While law school teaches you to research, write and think critically, it often overlooks the professional skills you will need to make yourself an essential team player when transitioning from a summer to full-time associate, say attorneys at Stinson.

  • The Path Forward For Construction Cos. After Calif. Wildfires

    Author Photo

    The increasing frequency of disastrous wildfires, like those that recently occurred in California, presents a set of complex challenges for the construction industry, including regulatory hurdles and supply chain disruptions that can complicate rebuilding efforts, say attorneys at Cozen O'Connor.

  • Series

    Birding Makes Me A Better Lawyer

    Author Photo

    Observing and documenting birds in their natural habitats fosters patience, sharpens observational skills and provides moments of pure wonder — qualities that foster personal growth and enrich my legal career, says Allison Raley at Arnall Golden.

  • What Pending FCPA Trials Suggest About DOJ Priorities

    Author Photo

    Following President Donald Trump's executive order in February instructing the U.S. Department of Justice to temporarily pause enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, developments surrounding five FCPA cases already set for trial provide a glimpse into how the DOJ is attempting to navigate the situation at hand, say attorneys at Covington.

  • Series

    Calif. Banking Brief: All The Notable Legal Updates In Q1

    Author Photo

    Among the most notable developments in California banking in the first quarter of the year, regulators and legislators issued regulations interpreting debt collection laws, stepped up enforcement actions, and expanded consumer protections for those affected by wildfires, says Stephen Britt at Severson & Werson.

  • Inside State AGs' Arguments Defending The CFPB

    Author Photo

    Recent amicus briefs filed by a coalition of 23 attorneys general argue that the Trump administration's efforts to dismantle the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will irreparably harm consumers in several key areas, making clear that states are preparing to fill in any enforcement gaps, say attorneys at Kelley Drye.

  • Series

    Adapting To Private Practice: From DOJ Leadership To BigLaw

    Author Photo

    The move from government service to private practice can feel like changing one’s identity, but as someone who has left the U.S. Department of Justice twice, I’ve learned that a successful transition requires patience, effort and the realization that the rewards of practicing law don’t come from one particular position, says Richard Donoghue at Pillsbury.

  • In-House Expert Testimony Is Tricky, But Worth Considering

    Author Photo

    Litigation counsel often reject the notion of designating in-house personnel to provide expert opinion testimony at trial, but dismissing them outright can result in a significant missed opportunity, say David Ben-Meir at Ben-Meir Law and Martin Pitha at Lillis Pitha.

Want to publish in À¶Ý®ÊÓÆµ?


Submit an idea

Have a news tip?


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